Almudena Cid breaks down on Salvados over neglect of retired Spanish Olympians

A hip replacement at 43

On Sunday, 1 November, laSexta's Salvados aired a segment titled Gloria y olvido, más allá del deporte, in which Gonzo talked with former gymnast Almudena Cid about the physical and personal cost of elite sport. Cid competed in four Olympic finals and retired after the Beijing 2008 Games. She told Gonzo she was operated on at 43 to fit a hip prosthesis for an injury from 2001 that she said was never detected, and that doctors told her the hip had been broken for about 20 years. Before the surgery she feared being left unable to walk normally, and the night before she watched Interstellar, linking one docking scene to the fitting of her new joint. The segment was filmed at Madrid's high-performance centre, where she was attending physiotherapy.

Recalling that period, she broke down in tears and said:

“I thought this didn't affect me, but it did.”

Little follow-up after retirement

Cid said the Spanish Gymnastics Federation had not checked on her condition after the operation, and she complained that nobody follows an athlete's medical conditions once they stop competing. Lola Fernández Ochoa, a former Olympic skier, described the Fundación Blanca, set up to support athletes during their careers and after they retire. She said an athlete can be left with nothing the day after retiring, with no unemployment benefit to fall back on. Fernando Romay, a former basketball player, argued that athletes have technical, physical and medical staff while competing but nobody helps them integrate into society afterwards, while Cid described an identity crisis that follows when everything stops at once.

Self-employed status and social security

Fernández Ochoa argued that the problem has not changed for current athletes, because the Sports Law and the model remain the same. Athletes can now register as self-employed, but no federation pays contributions on their behalf, even though federations choose the squad, set training camps and competitions, and refuse to register athletes as employers. Her niece, a member of Spain's rugby national team on a basic grant, must advance almost 4,000 euros a year to pay Social Security, on top of costs for a psychologist, fuel and food. Fernández Ochoa put it bluntly:

“Let's say we are false self-employed.”

Pensions after elite careers

Cid argued that years of dedication should appear in an athlete's working history, not only in their injuries, and that athletes who represented Spain for decades may lack the contribution periods for a decent pension. Gonzo cited Suso García Bragado, who took part in eight Olympic Games and retired at 51 after 32 years linked to the Games. Cid said that even while working and registered, the years do not count for him, and Gonzo noted he would have to wait until he was past 80. The situation is also familiar to Fernando Romay, who was in the Spanish squad that reached the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic final. Gonzo recalled a former Romay teammate who considered returning his silver medal after having to beg for a pension, and Olympians from Atlanta 1996, including Fermín Cacho and Pedro García Aguado, made the same complaint at an earlier meeting.

Pedro Sánchez interview postponed

Jordi Évole, who presents Salvados, said on X that the planned interview with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, was never recorded. It had been scheduled for Thursday, 29 October, but was suspended after the Urda rail tragedy, which is why the Sunday episode featured the Cid segment instead. Évole said the team would try to record the interview and broadcast it before 29-N.