the liver transplant who wins medals in his “second life” – Spain’s News

Our Armed Forces are full of admirable stories of improvement, dedication and delivery. And not only in the military field but also in sports, representing the highest values ​​that any athlete should have.

In the Army, as in the Spanish Armed Forces as a whole, there are those who combine their professional activity with sports practice beyond what is required by instruction and training, or the maintenance of the psychophysical conditions required by their work. They are authentic elite athletes even if they do not receive the recognition of civilian stars. The different units of the Spanish Army enjoy enormous prestige in international missions but few know their brilliant history of medals and awards in countless sporting disciplines. Soccer, Triathlon, Jiu-Jitsu, Dressage, Canoeing or brutal competitions like the Spartan Race are part of their achievements.

But for some, sport has not only been a discipline with which to achieve success but also a new life. This is the case of Commander Sánchez that the Army has been responsible for remembering this week on its social networks.

And is not for less. Hepatitis C from an infection on an international mission as an army commander led doctors to give him less than a year of hope in 2013. A decade later, with a liver transplant involved, former commander Carlos Sánchez Montes proclaimed himself Spanish runner-up javelin throwing. The discipline that became his “second life” after having to leave the Army.

“The doctors told me that I had at most a year to live. I was very clear that I was going to die.” This is how sincere and forceful Carlos Sánchez Montes recalled in an interview on Antena3 that year 2012, when he was diagnosed with hepatitis C. However, the generosity of an anonymous donor, to whom he now dedicates each of his sporting successes, allowed him to have a second chance.

Spanish runner-up

As an athlete of the Pontevedra Gymnastic Society, Last June, Carlos won the silver medal in the javelin throw at the Spanish Masters Athletics Championship. held in Jerez de la Frontera, with a mark of 38.48 meters. As if that were not enough, the Galician reached fourth place in the shot put (+60 years category) of five kilograms, with 10.91 meters.

A long way

His ordeal began in 2000, during a mission as Army commander in Kosovo, a local person caused a wound with a razor blade. He maintained a perfectly normal life, even being assigned to other international missions, until in 2012 he began to feel unwell. Until he was forced to retire in the act of service, leaving his position in the “Galicia” VII Brigade. He even participated in other missions, such as Pakistan or Afghanistan. “When they did the tests my liver was completely destroyed”, he relates. Everything came from that cut in the Balkans. After a long wait, a donor arrived.

After the operation and after appropriate rest, this Galician found in sport a great ally to improve both physically and psychologically. «At first I started simply walking, and then I made the jump to running and, finally, I opted for the different throwing disciplines that athletics has. —javelin, discus, weight and hammer—with the help of my friend and coach Santi Ferrer.

Since then, he hasn’t wasted any time. In 2017 she participated for the first time in a competition in this sport, in the World Transplant Championship, and already managed to place third. This was followed by many other podiums, such as the 2018 European Transplant Championship, where she won gold, silver and bronze medals in different categories, or the Galician Championship of Master Athletes – over 35 years old -, in which he won first place in his category – without forgetting that this competition is not exclusive for transplant recipients, but for the entire general population.

His experience led him to found, together with other colleagues, the Galician Association of Transplanted and Dialysis Athletes. His goal is now in international competitions where he assures that it would be a pride to represent Spain.