The extreme preparation that is necessary to become a member of the Fire Department is not a secret. The performance of this work requires an iron mind and a polished physique to face extreme situations, in which life is at stake. On many occasions, his heroic performances make headlines in the media. Lorenzo Pérez is already beginning to be used to it, but not only because of his job performance, but also because of his sports career that runs parallel to it: he has recently won three new medals at the World Firefighters Games, held between the April 30 and May 7 in Lisbon.
Specifically, Pérez won gold in the discipline of ‘powerlifting’, silver in ‘ultimate firefighter’ and bronze in the 100-meter dash in athletics.
Some successes that, added to the 61 metals achieved some time ago in five world championships, seven Europeans and eleven ‘Olympics’, have served for this legend of the firefighting championships to continue to grow, becoming part of the Hall of Fame. “I’m super proud of it. With my age, at this level there is no one; I must say that I have a lot of support, my colleagues help me a lot,” this 53-year-old official, born in the Carabanchel district, told ABC.
The success of this firefighter in the World Games represents the first medals for the Community of Madrid Corps, since Pérez previously competed for the Leganés Corps, now absorbed. And that this season, assures this legendary fire extinguisher, he had slowed down a bit. «This year I had taken it a little more relaxed. We have all noticed the pandemic, but the Hall of Fame nomination caught me by surprise and the motivation has been maximum with this », he points out.
To account for the harshness of the recent Games, it is worth as a reference that there are 70 modalities. “They are like a normal Olympics, plus the fire and police tests,” says this official, an expert in the TCA test, which includes 5,000 meters of ‘cross’, Olympic weight throw, 100 meters of speed, 100 meters of pool , six-meter rope climb, bench press, dominated on high bar and American track. Another of the queen tests is the climb to the 40-story tower.
After half a century, with close to 30 years serving citizens, this firefighter team leader only thinks about continuing training. Since he debuted in these competitions back in 1995, his goal has been to continue reaping awards, despite the harshness of the tests. “My colleagues already think I’m crazy,” he says with a laugh. “I came from athletics when I started preparing the opposition and, when I joined the Corps, I wanted to compete from the beginning,” says this ‘superman’ from Carabanchel.
If working as a firefighter is already a tremendously demanding profession, combining it with elite training makes it an enormously difficult challenge. «I sacrifice my vacations to be able to compete. The six months before a championship I start with the preparation, with an average of six or seven hours a day: running, gym, swimming… It’s a way of life».
The World Police and Fire Games originated in San Jose, California, in 1985. Since then, they have been held every two years.
