Against the Odds: Costa Rica’s Nery Brenes
August 20th, 2008 | by admin |Nery Brenes struggled for years to get the funding to race professionally
Nery Brenes has the Olympic hopes of a nation resting on his shoulders, and he is just 22 years old. He will represent Costa Rica in the 400 metres in Beijing. According to his coach, Walter Salazar, he’s the best athlete ever to have come from the country.
Nery was born in the impoverished port town of Limon, on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast.
It is a town being consumed by gang violence. Around30 people have been killed there so far this year.Walking beneath the huge trees of Limon’s tattered central square “Right now this town is going through a difficult time.
“There are a lot of deaths. Young kids killing young kids. There is a lot of drugs. So I’m just trying to be like someone that they can see improving life.
“What’s that Liverpool song - ‘You’ll never walk alone?’ I want kids to feel that from me - that they have someone who can be their support.”
Long road to success
Nery struggled for years to get the funding to race professionally.
Nery struggled for years to get the funding to make the best of his talent |
He almost gave up the sport so he could get a job to support his family.The government finally stepped in to give him a grant, and now he has several private sponsors.
“It’s so hard here. To get money, you need to be a superstar or something”, he said.
When Nery came fourth in the World Indoor Championships in Valencia in March this year, he gave his $8,000 prize money to deprived families from Limon.
“Along with being world champion, and to help my family, my dream is to build a school here for poor children”, he said.
‘He ran everywhere’
Laughter spills out from the single story house in a humble suburb of Limon as Nery play wrestles with one of his young cousins.
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When people got to know where I practised; where I’m from, they were like, ‘He’s got talent’. I was like the new kid on the block 
Nery BrenesFive generations live under the same roof. Nery introduces his great grandmother, Ofilia, 97; his grand mother Roslin, 72, and his mother Maidela, 37.Maidela looks at her son with intense pride, as her crochet needles move quickly in her hands.
“He learned to run quickly. He ran everywhere; inside, outside, in the street. My mother always says leave him - don’t stop him, don’t discourage him - leave him and stand aside - even if you’re left behind.
“Now, he’s an idol for the kids here”.
Nery kisses his mother softly on the cheek. He says that he calls her three times a day.
“We are a united family”, he says. “That’s why things are always going right and things are always coming through.”
Run-down athletics track
Nery now trains full time in the Costa Rican capital, San Jose.
Good memories: Nery’s old running track is now overgrown |
He returns to visit the run-down sports centre in Limon where he trained for 9 years.
It is difficult to see where the running track is; it is covered in grass and rocks, and some barefoot children are playing football at one end.
Walking slowly around it, he murmurs that the place holds good memories for him.
“This is where I first started practising when I was 12-years-old. It was so hard. I had a lot of injuries. But then I went to Osaka last year and I ran 45.01 and people were like, ‘Who is this guy?’
“When people got to know where I practised; where I’m from, they were like, ‘He’s got talent’. I was like the new kid on the block.”
His coach, Walter Salazar, says that Nery is shorter and lighter than most 400m runners but says he has “one of the fastest finishing kicks in the world”.
Gruelling sprint regime
Since he spotted his talent five years ago, Walter has taken charge of Nery’s training programme.
Costa Rica suffered recent flooding after a tropical storm |
In the run up to the Olympics, he makes him practise two or three times a day, every day of the week.With his Olympic test just around the corner, three of these sessions are a grueling series of 12 100 meter sprints, with a break of less than two minutes between each one.
Nery sears down his final 100 meter sprint in 10.4 seconds. His average time is about 11.4 seconds.
His chest heaves to suck in air, and he pours water over the back of his head as he squats down on the track.
Walter places his hand on his neck to check his pulse.
He is pleased. “That’s the best training session we’ve had”, he said. “Well done. Very consistent. That’s what we’re looking for.”
As for how well Nery can expect to do in the Olympics, Walter refuses to speculate.
He says: “He’s in very good shape. We hope for the best, but you know, anything can happen. We don’t think too much about the future, just about today, to have him free from injury and with motivation and concentration.”
Nery is clear about his own personal goal.
“I don’t think, I AM going to be World Champion. I’m going to work hard for that. I know it’s a long road… But I’m going to come through.”
