TRIUMPH at last for Spain at Tokyo 2020 has come at the steady and unflinching hands of its mixed team trap shooting pair after they fought off their counterparts from San Marino.
The golden pair shoot for the stars and net Spain's first Olympic championship title of Tokyo 2020 (photo: Spanish Olympic Committee - COE)
Fátima, 34, from Baena (Córdoba province) started out hesitantly in the final, causing Spain to bite its nails in the face of the confident, self-assured début the couple's rivals displayed, but she and Alberto, 38, from Madrid, kept their heads and came back swiftly to win 41-40.
As theirs is a minority sport, both have day jobs – Fátima is a nurse and Alberto is a musician – but with their first Olympic gold under their belts, they now have every chance of attracting sponsorship to allow them to further their career in trap shooting.
Neither had managed to leave the last three Olympics with medals in the singles category, but decided they were stronger as a team and that if they were planning to go for gold, it had to be as a united front.
Fátima was first drawn to trap shooting when she watched the Barcelona 1992 Olympics on TV, aged five, although her father did not start to teach her until she was 11.
Alberto was also taught by his dad, whom he used to accompany to training sessions and competitions as a child, pestering to be able to 'have a go'.
Had it not been for his father finally giving in, Alberto may have opted to plough 100% of his energies into becoming a rock star, rather than just 50% - he founded the group Los Geyperman, a tribute band to legendary Spanish act Hombres G, and so far, his biggest audience has been in region of 3,000 people.
Off-stage, he won the world and European championships in 2010, whilst Fátima became world champion in 2015, having won the world junior championships in 2005, aged 18.
They have never before been able to compete together in the Olympics, since the mixed team category did not exist before 2017 when it was approved in time for Tokyo 2020 – back when everyone thought the Tokyo Games would, in fact, be in 2020 – although in that short time, Fátima and Alberto managed to pack in some serious achievements.
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