“For continuing to pursue our dreams together. Happy Birthday. I love you”. Coti and Flor shared this ‘post’ on Instagram on February 12. Sisters, twins and players of the Spanish hockey team, congratulated each other on this most shared year and, with it, all the joys and sorrows experienced as elite athletes. With Coti on the field and Flor in the stands due to an injury, the two celebrated qualification for the Olympic Games as one. Understanding the special bond they have is complex but, at the same time, beautiful. The complicity in daily life is transferred to the playing field. Different positions (Coti is a defender and Flor, a forward) do not take them away from the objective and what they were very clear about “was to get to Paris. Medal? We see it as viable, of course. “We have everything to do more than just participate.”
Ambitious as well as realistic, they are aware of the difficulty “but also of the quality. We have equipment to compete against the best. The most important thing is to reach the quarterfinals and then step by step. “Match by match.” That ‘mantra’ perhaps comes from their ‘colchonero’ genetics. They are both from Atleti because “’Mono’ Burgos is family and my godfather is Juan Esnaider,” explains Coti. My grandmother is a fan of the team and we love them very much.”
The path of these sisters has not been easy but today, players of the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona, they live together in Barcelona and remember “what it has cost us to make a living from this sport. We are privileged, we know it.” This does not prevent Flor from graduating in Marketing and Public Relations and Coti from continuing with her studies in Psychology while they dedicate themselves to hockey. “I have been unemployed for nine and a half months and I have gone through all the phases of grieving this injury,” Flor acknowledges. A roller coaster for which you must arm yourself with patience.” Together they face adversity and together, in one way or another, they will be in Paris defending the colors of the national team. Together they will give each other that special greeting after shaking hands with the entire team. “We have been doing it since we were girls. It’s our little superstition,” they tell me. It’s a pleasure to listen to them and live them. They are educated, positive and kind. Women representing others with a stick in their hand and the other in their heart.
DOUBLE VALUE
Women. Sisters. Elite athletes. Players of the Spanish hockey team know how hard the road has been to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games. They believe in success because, like twins, they recognize each other daily in teamwork and complicity.