The athlete of PUMA attends MARCA during the inauguration of the 365Rider Running Boutique in Valencia.
Dani Mateo (Soria, 1989) interviewed in MARCA during the inauguration of the 365Rider Running Boutique in Valencia. A space for runners conceived in the heart of the city of running in which athletes of PUMA shows his feelings in a period in which he has had to face several setbacks. After being left out of the games, the man from Soriano, always with the marathon in mind, faces key months in which he hopes to capture the good feelings of training in competition.
ASK. At what point in the season are you?
R. Not qualifying for the European half marathon championships has been bad news. I have had very bad luck: brutal heat in Porto; in Berlin pollen, heat and air; in Istanbul, when I was running in 1h.03 under, I got a torment beastly... it has been a detriment, but we must move forward. Now I have faced a deloading period in which I will only run once a day and, after that, I will begin preparing for a marathon between October and December.
Q. Are you clear that the objective is still to compete in the long distance?
R. The marathon has gone so well that the moment is now and I am going to continue. The track neither attracts me nor motivates me. I feel good in the distance and I am going to continue doing so. It took me a lot to get here.
Q. What did it mean to be left out of the Paris Games?
R. I did not expect. My preparations were getting better and better. They tell me that I am older and I feel better and better: I am more of a 'dog', smarter and I run faster in training. I have that knowledge that makes me be more practical, smarter and do things better. It was a pain because I feel better and less pain.
I didn't expect to be left out of the Paris Olympics. My preparations were getting better and better.”
Danny Matthew
P. Ibrahim Chakir, Tariku Novales and Yago Rojo will represent Spain in the men's marathon in Paris. What do you think they can do?
A. Every race and every championship is a story. I have been to some Games and at a competitive level I did not see it as complicated. It is true that I was bursting at the analytical level, I was very tired and I ran dry at kilometer 25, I was neither going forward nor backward, but if I was in good shape, at the level I had been showing, I could have finished among the top ten. I don't know how they will put it, but running with coconut you have to be there.
Q. What position can Spain aspire to?
A. You see the Spanish team and it is evident that we have a great level, but you go to Berlin and I know those from 2h.05 - 2h.06, but from 2h.07 and 2h.08 there are many others... I think the level is very even. Africans are a different story and, on the other hand, the European countries that all have Africans are another story as well. There is a lot of competition, the marathon has evolved a lot and it is very difficult to make a prediction.
Q. More than a year has passed since you signed for Puma. What has the brand meant for your career?
A. The evolution that the brand has had in terms of shoes and clothing has been incredible. My mother accompanies me on my bike during training and the other day she told him that she didn't have any pain. Ankle, hip, knee... everything was discomfort or injury and that is why I value so much that they are counting on me to develop the products. They are valuing the athlete.
Q. The super sneaker war has been bloody in recent years. What place does Puma occupy in this contest?
A. Before there was a huge difference, but now there is no gap of any kind. You have a super extensive catalog from PUMA Fast-R NITRO Elite 2 for high speed PUMA Deviate NITRO Elite 2 that adapts to everything. The variety allows us to adapt to the most track athlete who runs more on the front, to the deepest athlete, like me, who runs flatter. PUMA looks any competitor's shoe in the face.
Q. What is your favorite model to compete in?
A. I am among the PUMA Fast-R NITRO Elite 2 For the high speed, it is perfect for when I run, for example, a 10.000, which I like the lever it generates and the rigidity it transmits, but when I run a half marathon or longer distance I like that soft yet reactive feel that the PUMA Deviate NITRO Elite 2 which works so well for me when I run flat.
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Q. Does an elite athlete always compete with a carbon plate?
A. I like to rotate. For milder days I alternate between ForeverRun NITRO y Magnify NITRO 2. Then a shoe that I use a lot is the Deviate NITRO 2, which has a plate and responds well to me up to paces of 3:10min/km. Then the PUMA Deviate NITRO Elite 2 or PUMA Fast-R NITRO Elite 2 as I said before.
Q. What would be your favorite shoe?
A. The Puma Deviate NITRO 2, for its versatility.
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