– The fourth edition of the most important national urban sports event will host more than 480 athletes.
– Daniel Dhers, Mia Catalano and Xak have been the visible faces of the athletes to kick off this edition.
Madrid will be full of skateboards, BMX, scooters and the best breaking moves with the fourth edition of Madrid Urban Sports, one of the most internationally recognised urban sports events.
In this fourth edition, which as always is based in Madrid Rio, will be held from 16 to 18 June with a line-up of high-level sporting competitions: the men’s, women’s and junior Scootering World Championships, the Olympic Breaking and BMX qualifiers and an incredible skateboarding competition.
The MUS has established itself in the city of Madrid, a free event that allows young people to get closer to urban sports. The presentation of this edition of the MUS was done through a streaming of Nil Ojeda, in the black esplanade with a fabulous Cash4tricks where skaters and scooter riders of the MUS fought for more than 1,200 € in cash.
Victor Casanovas, general director of the MUS, emphasised that “these urban sports are becoming more and more present and more important. We are one year away from the Paris Olympic Games, which will give them a greater boost. Madrid Urban Sports 2023 is the edition with the greatest sporting impact to date. It is the only international event that this year will have the same number of male and female prizes and both genders will be represented in all its events. The aim of this event is also to offer the new generations an alternative to football. These sportsmen and women are different, they want to win a medal but if they don’t get it, they will embrace the winner before anyone else, it is about community and being part of a group that conventional sports do not share. It’s about community and being part of a group that conventional sports don’t share. It’s one of the best examples of the values of these disciplines.”
A city event open to the public that seeks not to lose the essence of the practice of urban sports, sports that are practised in the street and that can be enjoyed by everyone who passes by.
Urban sports conquer the Olympics
Madrid will host more than 480 athletes from 45 different nationalities fighting for a unique dream: to be able to reach the Olympics from the streets of Madrid. Therefore, this year, to connect the city with the event, there are two spots in the street plaza inspired by the streets of Madrid where the Madrid skate scene usually tries its tricks: the planters of the Plaza del Congreso de Diputados and the bridge of Juan Bravo.
Daniel Dhers, considered one of the leading exponents of BMX, won silver at Tokyo 2020 in the premiere of urban disciplines at the Olympic Games.
Dhers says it was a dream come true to debut and win silver with his sport and is already thinking about Paris: “I think it’s going to be incredible, to feel the warmth of the public that we didn’t have in Tokyo, I’m preparing to get on the podium,” says the athlete. Daniel, who is almost 38 years old, has stated that “Paris will be my last dance with the bike, the dream retirement, after so much effort I leave BMX where it deserves, in the Olympics”.
For his part, Xak, number 1 in the national ranking and 9th in the Breaking world ranking, is looking forward to his debut, as is breaking, in Paris 2024. For the Cordovan it would be a dream come true as he left his profession, law, for his great passion: dancing. Xak was very happy to participate in the MUS again: “For me, Paris will be my first Games and it is a source of pride and satisfaction, but above all it is a great surprise for this sporting world, which is completely different to what we are used to. Before I did things on my own and for my group and now I feel that there are a lot of people represented both from my country and my scene and it is an opportunity for my sport and discipline to grow”.
Scootering, one of the most disruptive disciplines in urban sports, is the only one still waiting for its ticket to the Olympic Games. In Paris, one of the cradles of this discipline, an exhibition will be held. For the time being, Madrid and the MUS, in this fourth edition, will host the most important event for all skate lovers: the Scootering World Championships in Street & Park modalities. More than 200 athletes will fight to be crowned Scootering World Champions.
Carmelo Paniagua, president of the Real Federación Española de Patinaje, said: “I thank SevenMila for this world reference event and I value the merit it has. If there is something that is growing in the world of sport, it is that we have been able to keep up with what society wants, and what it wants now is urban sport. In my Federation, of the 11 sports that make up the Federation, 6 are practised in the street. We have discovered that these athletes have the same values that the Olympics believes its athletes should have.”
Mia Catalano is one of the most important and versatile representatives of women’s scootering, as she practises both modalities indistinctly. Catalano hopes to get on the podium in both disciplines “for me it would be a dream, I love Central Park and the street plaza, I just think about competing”, she says. The American adds that “I love this sport and I don’t mind at all being the only girl competing with boys, my passion is scootering and passion never stops”.
The fourth edition of the MUS kicks off with an eye on the 2024 Olympic Games, four days of frenetic competition open to the public, from 16 to 18 June, which becomes an ode to urban sports.