Silver award of merit (and frustration) for the resilient Carlos Gimeno and his 'OnlyFans': "I'm hurt"
Just when he thought he wouldn't be able to travel to Singapore, Carlos Gimeno earned the most important medal in his history on Sentosa Island, surrounded by beaches, hotels, and one of the Asian city's most important ports. It was a near-perfect final, as he dreamed of gold until the very last jump. A triple somersault with a lower difficulty gave him a score of 6.5 and 7, leaving first place to American James Lichtenstein, who earned a total of 428.90 to the Canary Islander's 425.30. The bronze went to the dominant figure in recent years, Romanian Constantin Popovici (408.70).
Gimeno's frustration was enormous. Wearing his white 'OnlyFans' swimsuit, his new sponsor, he surfaced after his dive, happy and smiling, convinced it was enough to secure the title. But, after a few seconds that seemed like minutes, the message appeared on the video scoreboards relegating him to second place. He put his hands to his head, said no, covered his face, and a general "ohh" was heard in the stands, and he left the scene completely upset. "I'm sad and hurt, but I'll be back," he said poolside.
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The diver caps off a career in which he has paved the way for high diving in Spain. He was the first world champion in 2015, followed by others, because this discipline, however, is more ornamental than fundamental in World Aquatics. Despite this, Spain has achieved the missing piece. He has now won medals in every discipline throughout history.
High diving was inaugurated at the World Championships in Barcelona in 2013. Until then, it only had a professional circuit organized by Red Bull, a kind of traveling diving "circus" where all the athletes travel together to the most iconic locations around the world and form "one big family." But World Aquatics, which funded the World Cups until last year, has stopped doing so, and now it's the federations that have to include a non-Olympic sport in their tight budgets. And that's when the problems began.
A struggle to be in Singapore He had to pay for the qualification and got a sponsorship from 'Onlyfans'Gimeno, one of the world's most experienced divers, had to pay for these expenses out of his own pocket to be in Singapore. "We didn't receive any help," he has been complaining recently. His latest deal, which he announced a few days ago on social media, is with 'Onlyfans,' the first sponsor to help him. Although the platform has generated controversy for its paid use of personal erotic content, Gimeno uses it to promote his jumps, his training, and his diet. He sticks to the sporting aspect.
His passion for water and adventure dates back to his childhood, when he and his parents would go caravanning along the beaches. From there, he moved on to gymnastics, which gave him a foundation and a culture that helps him prepare for his dives. He regularly trains at the M86 pool in Madrid. He can't do it on a 27-meter diving board because they don't exist, so his training is based on practicing the two dives that make up this crazy challenge: he dives from the 15-meter diving boards to practice the first part and then resumes with a lower dive. The risk is enormous in competition: in Macau, a few years ago, he entered the water with his head in the water (it's mandatory to do it standing up) and was unconscious for 15 minutes.
So much effort has been rewarded. Although he will soon fade back into obscurity in his sport. A dreamlike circus of the sun with his eccentric friends who only experience four days of recognition every two years.
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