This year marks the 33rd Olympic Games of the modern era, and various national committees are hoping to win as many medals as possible. The litmus test at the end of a cycle is the Olympic Games, where results can be measured to confirm past achievements or change course. 

In an interview with the sports media Mundo Deportivo, the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee, Alejandro Blanco Bravo, expressed his confidence in the Spanish athletes' performance in Paris: "It will be the event with the highest Spanish representation. It takes place every four years and is the biggest sporting event in the world. It is an event with a special character. I repeat, I am convinced that the Spanish athletes will achieve great sporting results."

"We have always used the 22 medals from Barcelona '92 as a reference and a target. Those were the best results in our history, and based on the results of 2023, I think we can even improve the Barcelona medal tally in Paris in 2024. It's a challenge and we hope to achieve it. 

As well as the importance of winning medals, he also emphasised the importance of diplomas (awards given by the IOC to athletes who finish between fourth and eighth). "It is a little known fact that after the last Games, more than 55% of Spanish athletes finished in the top eight and returned to Spain with Olympic diplomas. This is an indicator of the very high level of sport in Spain. To be in the top eight in any event is remarkable," said the 73-year-old  leader.

Commenting on the preparations and arrival of the Spanish athletes for the Paris 2024 Games, which will officially begin on 26 July with the Opening Ceremony on the banks of the Seine, the President of the COE said: "I am anxious for the athletes to arrive safely and I have no doubt that the situation in Paris will be under control. It is the biggest sporting event and we will enjoy it calmly and our athletes will enjoy it." 

In the wide-ranging interview with Mundo Deportivo, the former promoter of Madrid's bid to host the 2020 Games (which lost out to Istanbul on a tie-breaker, with Tokyo eventually hosting the Games), insisted that the Spanish capital was the most prepared city to host the Summer Olympics. 

However, he admitted that their bid for future games is on hold for the time being, and that Madrid is currently more focused on organising other major sporting events. According to the new philosophy of the Spanish Olympic Committee and the new philosophy of the IOC regarding Olympic cities, Madrid is the most prepared city to host a Summer Olympic Games.

While he defended Madrid and its past failed bid as a potential great city for the future, he did not share the same sentiment regarding Spain's joint bid (Catalonia and Aragon 2030) for the Winter Games, which could not be completed and a historic opportunity was missed. 

"Since then, we have not had any meetings to discuss presenting a new bid to the IOC. It is a shame because it was a winning bid, with all the necessary international support. From that moment on, it was necessary to reflect and present a new bid, and this step was not taken because we need time to regain the confidence of the international Olympic movement," he concluded. 

At the last Olympic Games, held in Tokyo in 2020, Spain was represented by 326 athletes (188 men and 138 women) competing in 29 sports. 12 of the 29 federations represented won at least one medal, something that had never happened before, with a total of 17 med