MARTIN-PORTUGUES Lucia

Personal Information

Residence Madrid, ESP

Occupation Athlete, Student

Languages Spanish

Higher education Dentistry - Complutense University of Madrid: Spain

License number 22101990000

Club

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Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? She began fencing at age seven at the municipal school of Villanueva de la Canada in Spain.

Why this sport? She was involved in ballet when she was younger. Her brother then started fencing and she decided to switch sports. "I had to wait until he finished his lesson before our mother picked us up. And I think that after some time watching fencing I thought, 'For me it will be more action and less tutu', and my mother switched me to fencing."

Club / Team Club de Esgrima Oso y Madrono: Madrid, ESP

Name of coach Jose Luis Alvarez [club, national], ESP

Training Regime She trains for up to 10 hours per day.

Handedness Right

General Interest

Hobbies Listening to music. (marca.com, 31 Oct 2020)

Most influential person in career Her mother, and coach Jose Luis Alvarez. (AS, 08 Mar 2024; rfeEsgrima Twitter profile, 23 Mar 2021)

Hero / Idol Spanish taekwondoka Coral Bistuer. (rfeEsgrima Twitter profile, 23 Mar 2021)

Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs She wears necklaces and jewellery from her parents, as well as bracelets. "I watched the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo on TV and I was thinking, 'I want to be there'. It was sad being sat on a couch while my level would allow me to be competing. I was so sad and then I bought this bracelet with knots that get untied from time to time. So, every time I tie the knots I remember the way I felt in those moments and it reminds me how hard I have to work so I don't feel like that again." (relevo.com, 05 Apr 2024)

Sporting philosophy / motto "Insist, resist and persist." (AS, 08 Mar 2024)

Ambitions To win gold at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (relevo.com, 05 Apr 2024)

Other information PERSONA ON THE PISTE
She says that she becomes a different kind of person during competition, aggressive and focused, in contrast to her relaxed and playful personality away from the piste. "I'm always dancing and shouting, I've always been a bit of a clown. But once I get on the piste, just like [US boxer] Mike Tyson said, I become a person that maybe is not as likeable, because I have to set in motion a series of thoughts and feelings that could lead me to victory. I call it 'survival mode'. I'm so focused because I know that only one fencer will remain standing and that has to be me. These characteristics, such as aggressiveness, fury and chaos, help me to win, although I don't like them in my day-to-day life." (relevo.com, 05 Apr 2024)

COMBINING SPORT AND STUDIES
She combines her sporting career with her dentistry studies. "They both teach me patience, that things do not always come along no matter how hard you try and that the patient, or your rival, will always try to trick you." (as.com, 18 Mar 2022)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She has served as a referee at fencing competitions in Spain. (as.com, 18 Mar 2022)

EPILEPSY
At age 17 she was diagnosed with epilepsy. "It is not difficult to control because I do not convulse, but I do have some crisis in which I become mentally absent and cannot react. I have even suffered one in the middle of a competition. But, even so, I can still pursue a career in the sport." (olympics.com, 16 Mar 2023; elcorreo.com, 11 Mar 2022; marca.com, 31 Oct 2020)