This brochure presents the success of the Murcian athletes from the beginnings. The material is prepared by Andreea, volunteer at Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia, in the project "Volleyball is not rocket science. We are!", financed by European Solidarity Corps.

1. Famous
athletes
MURCI A REGI ON

2. Volleyball is not rocket science. We are!
This publication reflects the views only of the
author, and the European Commission cannot be
held responsible for any use which may be made
of the information contained therein.
This international volunteering project
is financed through the European
Solidarity Corps programme.
The project "Volleyball is not rocket science. We are!", shortly
named "Volleyball Science", is an initiative of Yellow Shirts
Association to promote sports, volleyball in particular, at the
grassroots level. The initiative is supported by local and
international partners
With the support of the 6 volunteers, the project wants to
organise 90 activities related to sports, in particular to
volleyball.
Andreea represents the Yellow Shirts Association from
Romania and she is hosted as a volunteer in the project by
Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM), Spain.
Author: Andreea CĂPLESCU
Publishing date: May 2020
Information and photos: Wikipedia

3. Encarna Hernández
She started practising basketball at the age of 13 with
the boys and girls of her neighbourhood
She did not only play basketball but also practised other
sports like cycling or skating
In 1931 she participated in the foundation of the Atlas
Club
In 1932 the Atlas Club was dissolved and Encarna
became part of Laietà
Birthdate: 23rd of January 1917
Sport: Basketball

4. After the Civil War, she played in Laietà, Cottet and Moix
Llambés, apart from the women's section of the Falange
At the end of the Civil War, as a basketball instructor she is
appointed by the Falange to make "strong and healthy women
for the homeland"
In 1944 she received an offer from FC Barcelona remaining in
the club until 1953
She was one of the pioneers of the Spanish basketball, as a
player, coach and referee
She was the first coach in Spain to manage the Peña García de
Hospitalet team in 1932
Teams as player: Atlas Club, C.E. Laietà, F.C. Barcelona,
Women's Section, Peña García, Cottet, Moix Llambés, Fabra
and Coats
Teams as coach: Cottet, Moix Llambés, Women's Section, Peña
García

5. Ginés García Perán
He was one of the first Murcians to run the Tour de France
His main successes were a stage of the 1962 Volta a
Catalunya, where he finished third overall, winner of the stage
in the Alps Tour del Porvenir (Tour de France)
In 1964 he won the silver medal with the teams of the World
Road Cycling Championship in time trial
In 1967 he was first in the General Classification of the Tour of
the Mining Valleys, Spain
Birthdate: 28th of February 1941
Spot: Cycling

6. Jorge Carlos Haenelt Maguel
He won his first important title in
1972, the Snipe Spanish Youth Cup,
with A. Albaladejo as a crew
member, sailing for the Los Nietos
Náutico Club
Birthdate: 5th November 1953
Sport: Sailing
Sailing under the leadership of the Real
Mediterráneo Club, he has been the
European Champion three times (1982,
1984 and 1988), the Spanish Champion
other three times (1982, 1984 and 1989),
and third in the World Championship

7. In the Snipe class he has won the His
Majesty the King Trophy four times
(1983, 1985, 1986 and 1989), the
Cup of His Royal Highness the Prince
of Asturias (1985), 3 of His Royal
Highness Princess Sofia Trophy
(1983)

8. His career as a football player began
in the patios and streets of Cieza
He practically spent his entire career
at F.C Real Madrid (1974–1989),
being the seventh player in the club's
history with the most played games
He played 414 league games, all of
them with Real Madrid, scored 9 goals
and was only sent off once
José Antonio Camacho
Birthdate: 8th June 1955
Sport: Football

9. He debuted with the Spanish team on
February 5, 1975 against Scotland (1-1),
came to wear the national shirt in 81 games
After retiring as a footballer, he began his
career as a coach at Rayo Vallecano in Madrid,
which he managed to get up to the First
Division
Later he managed RCD Español in four
seasons; he also trained in Seville
He got the position of coach of Spain's team
in September 1998, managing the national
team for the 2000 Euro Cup and the 2002
World Cup
After his time with the national team, he
coached Benfica for almost two seasons,
In 2004 he left the Lisbon team re-
sign with Real Madrid
He returned to Benfica in 2007, but
resigned after a losing streak in
March 2008
In the 2008-09 season, as coach of
Osasuna for 32 days, he achieved
the goal of the Navarrean team
remaining in the highest category of
Spanish football
In November 2016, Camacho
announced that he would be the
new coach of the Gabon national
team
winning a Portuguese Cup

10. Francisco
Sánchez Jover
Birthdate: 24th April 1960
Sport: Volleyball
He started playing volleyball in 1973 in the
team of Atocha and then went on to San
Buenaventura
At 17 he made his debut in the Honor Division
in the team of Real Madrid

11. In March 1981, he renewed with the Madrid
team for two seasons
He remained as a player in the Calvo Sotelo
Volleyball Club team until his retirement in
1995
He was the head coach at the Calvo Sotelo
Volleyball Club and president of the Club
Voleibol 7 Islas since 1999
From the 2011/2012 season he also
coached 7 Islas Volleyball Club until the
summer of 2017
He returned to train the team again for the
2018-19 season
He won a total of 12 Super Leagues and 12
King's Cups

12. Chendo
(Miguel Porlán
Noguera)
Birthdate: 12th October 1961
Sport: Football

13. He developed his entire professional career at Real
Madrid, between 1980 and 1990, being as well a player
for the Spanish team
He joined Real Madrid on September 1, 1977, passing
the youth team
In 1980 he moves forward and plays for Castilla
He debuted with Real Madrid on April 11, 1982
He debuted as an international with the Spanish team
on January 22, 1986 with victory against the U.R.S.S.

14. Jesús Montoya
Birthdate: 4th December 1963
Sport: Cycling
In 1992 he was the leader for 12 days of Vuelta a
España and finished second behind Tony
Rominger
In 1993 he was the fifth in the Vuelta, although he
achieved a stage victory, ending in Alto Campo de
la Sierra de Híjar

15. Antonio Peñalver
Birthdate: 1st December 1968
Sport: Athletics
He participated in three Olympic Games (Seoul
1988, Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996) and he
obtained a decathlon silver medal at the 1992
Barcelona Olympic Games
He managed to have the two combined test
record marks, the decathlon and heptathlon held
on the indoor track

16. Bernardo González
Miñano
Birthdate: 7th Septeber1969
Sport: Competition cycling
He was part of the Spanish Olympic team at the
Seoul Olympics in 1988 and at the Atlanta ones in
1996

17. In Seoul he achieved an Olympic
diploma after finishing fifth in the 1
km time trial
In Atlanta in 1996 he was part of the
chase team that ranked 11th
He won as an amateur the Tour of
Cartagena and the Tour of the
Community of Madrid in 1990

18. Fran Murcia
(Francisco José Murcia Sánchez)
Birthdate: 14th November 1970
Sport: Basketball
With his height of 2.03 meters, he played on the pivot position
He played with the CB Zaragoza team for 8 years in which he won 1
Copa del Rey in 1990
In 1996 he signed for Saski Baskonia

19. In the course of the season he leaves
Vitoria and signs for Joventut de
Badalona, the team in which he wins his
second Copa del Rey in 1997
His last teams in the 2002-2003 and
2003-2004 season, already in the final
stretch of his career, were CB Gran
Canaria and Basket Zaragoza 2002

20. She competed in the national rhythmic
gymnastics team of Spain
In 1991 she entered the national rhythmic
gymnastics team of Spain as a junior individual
gymnast, participating in the European Junior
Championship in Lisbon
Carolina Borrell Penades
Birthdate: 1976
Sport: Rhythmic gymnastics

21. In 1993 she became part of the senior
Spanish team of the national rhythmic
gymnastics team of Spain
In the Bucharest European Championship,
the Spanish team won the bronze medal in
the general competition and in the final
with 4 rings and 4 clubs, and 6th place on
6 strings; she retired after this
championship

22. In 2003 she won the bronze medal in the Snipe class of the absolute world championship, as
a crew member for his brother, Francisco Sánchez Ferrer, with whom she won the European
championship in 2010 and was second in 2012
Also with her brother she has won 4 Spanish championships (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2013)
She was the female world champion of the Snipe class in 2008 and vice-champion in 2012
with Marina Gallego
Marina Sánchez Ferrer
Birthdate: 9th January 1977
Sport: Sailing

23. She competed with the Spanish team at the 2004 Athens Olympics, finishing
12th in the female category in the Yngling class

24. José Antonio
Expósito Piñeiro
He won three gold medals at the Summer
Paralympic Games in 2000 (Sydney) and 2012
(London)
Birthdate: 2nd May 1978
Sport: Adapted athletics

25. Juan Manuel Molina Morote
Birthdate: 15th March 1979
Sport: Athletics
He competed in athletics in the specialty of athletic march
He has a degree and a PhD in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences from UCAM
He conquers the bronze medal in the 20 km march of the 2005 World Athletics
Championships and the bronze medal in the 20 km march of the 2002 European
Athletics Championships

26. In the 2009 Pescara Mediterranean Games he won the
bronze medal in the 20 km march and the silver medal in
the 2005 Almería Mediterranean Games
He has participated in the 2001 Beijing Universiade and
Izmir 2005 managing to be vice-champion, respectively
champion of the university world
On August 2, 2009 he was proclaimed the champion of
Spain of 10,000 meters march
He has participated in two Olympic games: Athens 2004
and Beijing 2008

27. In 2011, as a sighted pilot for Miguel Ángel Clemente, they
conquered the silver medal at the World Championships
Competing with Clemente, they achieve the bronze medal
at the London 2012 Paralympic Games
In 2013 he was awarded the bronze medal of the Royal
Order of Sports Merit
Diego Javier Muñoz
Birthdate: 5th April 1974
Sport: Cycling

28. Alejandro Valverde
Birthdate: 25th April 1980
Sport: Cycling
During his professional career he has run on the
Kelme-Costa Blanca and Illes Balears / Caisse
d'Epargne / Movistar teams
Valverde has a total of 127 professional victories
He is the winner of the UCI ProTour 2006 and 2008
and UCI WorldTour 2014 and 2015

29. He is the cyclist with the most medals won
in the history of the road world
championships
He participated in the 2012 Tour Down
Under, where he achieved victory in the
queen stage and was second overall
In 2006 he was second in the Golden Bike
for best cyclist of the year, in 2014 third and
in 2018 first
Among his most important victories are
the 2018 World Road Championships, 1
Grand Tour (Vuelta a España 2009) and
17 stage victories spread among the Big
Three, the Flecha Valona 2006, 2014,
2015, 2016 and 2017, Liège- Bastoña-
Liège 2006, 2008, 2015 and 2017, the
Dauphiné Libéré 2008 and 2009, the
Clásica de San Sebastián 2008 and 2014,
the Volta a Cataluña 2009, 2017 and
2018, the Tour of the Basque Country
2017 and the Tour of Burgos 2004 and
2009

30. The Yeclan tennis player has won several
titles on the professional WTA circuit, 21
in doubles and 5 in singles
Her best year so far has been 2010, in
which she reached her best rankings (19th
in singles and 4th in doubles)
In 2008 she participated in the Beijing
Olympics, being eliminated in the second
round, prior to the round of 16
María José Martínez
Birtdate: 12th August 1982
Sport: Tennis

31. In 2009 she qualified to play in the WTA
Tour Championships in the discipline of
doubles with her partner Nuria Llagostera,
in which they passed forward after
defeating the Williams sisters in the
semifinals and in the final the number 1
couple in the world, Black / Huber
In 2010 she started out winning the
Hopman Cup by teaming up with Tommy
Robredo. She reached the final after
defeating teams from Australia, USA and
Romania, winning their three match
In 2012 she participated in the London
Olympics, reaching the second round
In 2013 she retired for a while to devote
herself completely to motherhood
In 2015 she returned to the courts to play
in the discipline of doubles, managing to
prolong a successful career adding several
more titles until his final retirement at the
end of 2019

32. He competed in cycling in track modalities, being a
specialist in chase and scoring tests, and route
He debuted as a professional in 2006 with the 3
Molinos Resort team
In 2008 he won the silver medal in the points race at
the Track Cycling World Cup
Eloy Teruel
Birthdate: 20th November 1982
Sport: Cycling

33. Also in 2008 he achieved the bronze medal in scoring and the fourth
place in pursuit at the World Cup in Melbourne
On February 16, 2009 the Spanish quartet formed by Sergi Escobar,
Eloy Teruel, David Muntaner and Unai Elorriaga Zubiaur won the
silver medal in the last round of the World Cup
He won three medals at the World Track Cycling Championships
between 2013 and 2015, and two medals at the European Track
Cycling Championships, silver in 2014 and bronze in 2013
Raced at the London 2012 Olympics, finishing 6th in the team chase
event

34. Pablo Aitor Bernal
He obtained an Olympic diploma at the London
Olympics and was a 2010 World Cup champion
He finished twice in fifth place in the World Cup
and was champion of Spain eight times
Birthdate: 25th August 1986
Sport: Cycling

35. Miguel Ángel López Nicolas
Birthdate: 3rd July 1988
Sport: Athletics
Specialized in march walking for the
distance of 20 kilometers
He is a student of the Sciences of Physical
Activity and Sports at UCAM
He was part of the UCAM Athleo Cieza club
(until season 2013-2014)
He was part of the CA Llano de Brujas club
(from season 2014-2015)
He was fifth place and Olympic diploma at
the London 2012 Olympics

36. At the 2013 World Athletics Championships held
in Moscow (Russia) he won the bronze medal
In this specialty at the World Cup, held in Taicang
on May 4, 2014, he obtained the fifth position
On August 13, 2014, at the 2014 European
Athletics Championships held in the city of
Zurich, he won the gold medal on August 23,
2015, again reaching gold in the 2015 World
Athletics Championships
He has been chosen 4 times as Best Spanish
Athlete of the year, in 2012, 2013, 2014 and
2015

37. José Antonio Marco
Birthdate: 24th March 1989
Sport: Basketball
Played in the point guard position
Marco trained at the San Jose de la Vega and Caja
San Fernando de Sevilla quarry
The 2006-2007 season he played at the Caja San
Fernando EBA League team, the Écija Caja San
Fernando, and at the LEB-2 team
In 2007 he signed with Polaris World Murcia

38. After playing in ADT Tarragona in
2010/11 and Club Melilla Basketball in
2011/12 and 2012/13, he signed in the
2013/14 season for Cáceres World
Heritage Site, club with which he
achieved promotion to LEB Gold in
2014/15
He is the player with the highest
number of assists (542) in the history of
the club, in which he was awarded the
Cáceres Hobby Trophy for the best
player of the 2013/14 season
In the 2017/18 season, he signed for the
Aceitunas Fragata Morón, from LEB Plata, a
club with which he renewed in 2018/19
He was selected in the Spain national
Under- team of basketball
In the U16 category, he won the bronze
medal in the 2005 European Basketball
Championship in León (Spain)
In the U20 category he won another bronze
in 2008 in Riga (Latvia)
In 2005 he also won gold at the European
Youth Olympics, held in Lignano (Italy)

39. In 2012 El Chato completed his third season
in teams from the north of Spain in 2010 he
joined the Caja Rural
He achieved victory in the first round of the
Spanish Cup in the U23 category played in
Don Benito (Extremadura)
Rubén Fernández Andújar
Birthdate: 1st March 1991
Sport: Cycling

40. He achieved the triumphs in Villatuerta (Navarra),
Guadiana Circuit, Supplies Monjardín Trophy, Regional
Time Trial Championship, Busturiako Udala Saria and
Martin Deunaren Saria
He was selected to run in the Tour del Porvenir
His achieved victories in 2012 earned him a two-year
contract with the Caja Rural team in Navarra
In 2013, he managed to win on the Tour del Porvenir
In 2016 he became leader of the Vuelta in Spain

41. She plays in the club Perfumerías Avenida of
the Feminine League
She achieved the record of 9 medals in 6
years, between European and world
championships
From the 16 tournaments she has played for
Spain, in all of them she managed to get on
the podium, nine in the training category
(from 2007 to 2012) and seven in the
absolute category (2013-2019)
Laura Gil
Birthdate: 24th April 1992
Sport: Basketball

42. He joined La Masía in 2008 at the age of 15
He went up between the categories, until finally reaching the
Blaugrana subsidiary, with which he debuted in the Second
Division on September 22, 2012 against FC Hercules
On May 29, 2013 he played the Catalonia Cup final against RCD
Español
In the 2013-14 season, he would become an always presence in
the schemes of Eusebio Sacristán, who would always summon him
by aligning him as a starter
Patricio Gabarrón Gil
Birthdate: 17th April 1993
Sport: Football

43. He was convened by Gerardo Martino to play for the first
team in the UEFA Champions League against Ajax in
Amsterdam and in the Liga BBVA against Athletic Club
On December 7, 2013 he scored his first goal with the
Barça subsidiary against CE Sabadell (2-0 victory)
In the following season, already with a lot of experience in
the branch, he was appointed as the second captain
In June 2015, after three seasons with the Barça subsidiary,
Patric was released after finishing his contract and signed
for the Società Sportiva Lazio, signing for 4 seasons with
the Italian club
He currently plays as a right back at Società Sportiva Lazio
in Serie A in Italy

44. She started riding a motorcycle at the age of
3 and made her first race in 2001, in
minibikes
She debuted in the 2011 Spanish
Championship at age 14, making history by
becoming the first female to score in the 125
c CEV
Ana Carrasco Gabarrón
Birthdate: 10th March 1997
Sport: motocycling

45. In 2012, she achieved another unique
feature in the history of Spanish
motorcycling, with her sixth place on
the grid, the highest achieved by a
Spanish rider in the Spanish
Championship
It is the second Spanish to compete in
the Motorcycle World Cup, after the
pioneer Elena Rosell, debuting on
April 7, 2013 in the Qatar Motorcycle
Grand Prix
On October 13, 2013, she was ranked 15th
in the Malaysian GP, she achieved 1 point,
thus becoming the first Spanish rider to
score in a World Motorcycle Championship
In the 2014 World Cup she raced with the
"RW Racing" team
On September 30, 2018, she became the
first world champion in history to win the
season's title in a motorcycle world
championship

46. He started swimming at the age of 4 and
competed for the first time without having the
minimum age required because he was wrong to
provide his age of birth
At the age of 20 he already took tenth place in
the European Championship
On May 25, 2019, he achieved a bronze medal in
the French LEN Cup
On June 16, 2019 he won the Championships of
Spain Lake Banyoles
Alberto Martínez Murcia
Birthdate: 27th July 1998
Sport: Swimming in open water

47. In July 2019 he achieved the eighth
place in the 10 km race and the
seventh place in the 25 km open
water race in the 2019 World
Swimming Championship
Since 2018 he trains daily with the
swimmer Mireia Belmonte in the
CAR of Sant Cugat

48. Carlos Alcaraz In 2019 he became the first tennis
player born in 2003 to win a match in
a Challenger tournament
On February 17, 2020, he defeated
his compatriot Albert Ramos in the
first round of the Rio de Janeiro ATP
500 tournament, winning his first
match in the final table of an ATP
Tour tournament at the age of 16
years and 10 months
Birthdate: 5th May 2003
Sport: Tennis

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