It is not common for an elite athlete to make the leap into Spanish politics, and even less so for those who have won an Olympic medal to do so. However, it is something that happens, albeit residually, the latest example of this being Cristian Toro, gold in canoeing at the Rio 2016 Games alongside Saúl Craviotto. Toro has become the new national spokesperson for Sports for Vox. His predecessors can be counted on the fingers of one hand:
- Ruth Beitia, Olympic champion in high jump in Rio 2016, made the leap to the Parliament of Cantabria with the Popular Party.
- Theresa Zabell, double gold in sailing (Barcelona 92 and Atlanta 96), developed a political career as an MEP for the PP.
- Fermín Cacho, gold in 1,500 meters in Barcelona 92, also reached the Senate under the acronyms of the PP.
The common denominator of all of them is clear: top-level sports careers that result in a real political presence, although with different intensities and profiles.
Thus, while Ruth Beitia, Theresa Zabell or Fermín Cacho capitalized on a high public notoriety after their Olympic successes, Toro's case responds to a more recent model, that of the organic integration into a party with less direct institutional exposure.
Ephemeral step
In any case, the continuity of Spanish Olympic medalists in institutional politics has been limited and short-lived. Of the names presented, beyond that of Toro, only Ruth Beitia today maintains a certain link with the Popular Party in Cantabria —although with less visibility than in previous stages—.
Theresa Zabell and Fermín Cacho had a specific political presence, without continuity over time.
What an Olympic medalist brings to politics
The attractiveness of these profiles lies in three key elements:
- Credibility and culture of effort associated with high performance
- Public recognition immediate
- Ability to connect with discourses of merit, discipline and overcoming
However, its real political impact depends on its ability to transfer that symbolic capital to public management or political debate, something that does not always happen.