Iraaia Vicente

Happy monumental birthday to Spain’s sprint hurdler Iraia Vicente, a Spanish national champion who has already won three national medals.

Iraia won the Spanish U18 100m hurdles title in Castellón, clocking 13.71 in the final, and she has an indoor bronze from the Spanish U18 60m hurdles championships to go with it. Then this year she did the hardest thing a young hurdler ever has to do: she moved up to the full-height barriers. Sprint hurdlers spend years learning a rhythm over one height and then have the height raised on them, which changes the stride pattern, the lead leg, the trail leg and the entire feel of the race. In her first indoor season over the taller hurdles, Iraia went to Sabadell and won a national U20 bronze medal. That is not adaptation, that is a level jump.

She hurdles for Bilbao Atletismo Santutxu under Jon Álzaga, races the Euskadi championships where she has been a regional runner-up, and does her fastest work on the track at Anoeta in Donostia. Three Spanish national medals before she has turned 18, in an event where Spain is currently very strong indeed.

And that is the marker today. Eighteen is the birthday that closes out the junior years properly and opens the adult ones, and Iraia arrives at it already medalling at the higher hurdle height, already national champion, already used to Spanish finals. There is a very long career in front of her and she has done the difficult transition early.

Zorionak eta urte askotarako, Iraia! ¡Feliz cumpleaños y que cumplas muchos más, con mucha salud y mucha alegría! Aupa, Iraia! 🎂🎁🎉🫶🫶🇪🇸