Ramón Lecumberri, a Champion in the Making

Ramón Lecumberri Pastor (Seville, Spain, 24.09.97) was born with a passion for kayaking. He has trained all his life at the Club Náutico de Sevilla, one of Spain's top kayaking and rowing clubs. He was also selected for a 2-year training stage  with the national junior team at the High Perfomance Centre in Trasona, Asturias, while he completed his high school studies (2013-2015) away from home. At present, he trains with the national junior team at the Cartuja High Performance Centre, and he studies Psychology at Seville University. Outgoing like a true sevillano, social media savvy Ramón has his own You Tube channel and uses Instagram to connect him with team mates, friends and fans from all over the world.

In Szeged, Hungary, on 20th July 2014, teenage Ramón and his K-4 crew mates Pelayo Roza, Pedro Vázquez and Cristian Silva beat the Russian boat in the last few metres, with the Australians finishing third, in an amazing 1,000m race at the Junior World Championship: 



A young man of stamina and resilience, Lecu, as he is also known, never gives up easily. In a recent 5,000-metre race at a regional championship, his boat capsized after a windy start; he managed to keep his cool, pulled briefly out of the race, jumped onto a pier, emptied his flooded boat and re-entered the race. After catching up with the rest of the competitors, incredibly he finished in second place much to the amazement of the admiring crowd. He then went on to congratulate and embrace the winner. Lecu is an example of fair play, sacrifice and comradeship for new generations of sports lovers.

His next goals: paddling solo at the K-1 1,000m race in the upcoming National Championship to take place in his hometown, Seville, next March 12-13. In the near future, he hopes to classify to take part next July in the European Canoeing Championship at Plovdiv, Bulgaria, or even in the World Championship in Minsk, Belarus. .Go, go, go, Lecu!