El Consejo Superior de Deportes rinde homenaje al director de la Residencia Joaquín Blume, José Ramón López Díaz-Flor

• In the run-up to their retirement, authorities, athletes, colleagues, family and friends have gathered in an emotional act that highlights almost 40 years of experience.

Madrid, November 17, 2025.- The Superior Sports Council (CSD) honored this Monday José Ramón López Díaz-Flor, who at the end of 2025 will close a stage of almost 40 years as director of the Joaquín Blume Residence in the High Performance Center of Madrid.

During an event held in the canoeing room and in the presence of authorities, athletes of different generations, co-workers, family and friends, the president of the CSD, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, announced that this space will be named after the director since 1988 of the Joaquín Blume Residence.

In the words of Rodríguez Uribes, this decision is a gesture of gratitude “for his dedication and professionalism”, both during his stage as an athlete and in these almost forty years at the head of the management of the residence, a key place in the development of talent.

“That position needs leadership and a lot of human quality. With your authenticity, your commitment and your good intentions, you have been and are a fundamental part of the history of Spanish sport, of the CSD and, of course, of the Joaquín Blume Residence”, said Rodríguez Uribes.

José Ramón López Díaz-Flor Canoeing Room

From this moment, the canoeing room of the CAR of Madrid is called “José Ramón López Díaz-Flor Canoeing Room”.

“You deserve to have your name forever linked to this site and everything it symbolizes,” Rodríguez Uribes announced.

During his sporting career, José Ramón López Díaz-Flor placed Spain in the elite of international canoeing. He was an Olympic medalist at the 1976 Montreal Games (silver in K4 1000m) and won six World Cup medals between 1975 and 1978.

After his outstanding career as an athlete, in February 1988 he took over the management of the Joaquín Blume Residence of the CAR of Madrid, where he has accompanied and guided dozens of generations of young athletes. His work and personality have left their mark on those who have had the opportunity to grow under the demand and affection that from that position he offered them.

“To see so many colleagues and athletes here is an honor for me; I am the one who has to thank you for having been able to join the residence for so many years,” said López Díaz-Flor, visibly excited, after discovering the commemorative plaque that gives his name to the canoeing training room.

López Díaz-Flor has highlighted the “parent-child” relationship that for more than three decades he has built with the athletes of the Blume Residence, a “formative” link that, according to him, has served to learn from each other.

The Olympic medallist also wanted to remember the “bet that was made from this house, from the CSD, to have an institute within the center and that our athletes are trained here”.

The figure of José Ramón López Díaz-Flor, in the words of the CAR athletes

During the tribute, some of the most outstanding athletes of recent years wanted to express what José Ramón has meant to them.

Thus, the fondist Fernando Carro has highlighted his most emotional facet:

“Not only for me but for all the people who over the years have passed through the High Performance Center, the paternal even maternal figure – as I have once spoken with him – has meant a point of strategic support for each and every athlete. Their passage through the residence and, in general, through Spanish sport and our sport in particular, will never be able to be filled in the same way.”

Badminton player Carolina Marín recalled how José Ramón became a fundamental pillar since his arrival:

“When I arrived here, at the age of 14, José Ramón became my second father. And it has been in these almost 20 years that I have been in Madrid. He has been a father, a friend and, above all, a person of my trust. I am very grateful to you, for each of the details you always have with me, for taking care of me as well as you have taken care of me and, above all, grateful for the love you have always had for me. José Ramón has been so important that, when I was given the Princess of Asturias and they asked me who I wanted to go with – apart from my team and my family, of course – being such an important person in my life and almost a second father, I wanted to invite him to share with me that beautiful and emotional moment for me.”

The karateka Damián Quintero has praised his figure as an educator, in the sports field and in the staff:

“For me, you have been a second father. I've learned a lot from you. What am I going to tell you about all these years that we have spent together? You taught me, you scolded me, we had a good time. You have done me infinite favours. Mainly, you have made my life much easier since I arrived in Madrid at the age of 18 until I am 41. I thank you infinitely for what you do for me, what you do for athletes and for Spanish sport.”

The karateka Sandra Sánchez also recalled the great support she gave her in the worst moments:

“When I arrived at the residence and everyone saw problems, you found solutions. That came to mean that at a certain point my life would take one path or another. I want to thank you for always being there, with your handshakes, with your hugs and always with your support. Although now another path of your life begins, somehow you will always be part of ours. We will always take you here, in our heart.”

The athlete Águeda Marqués has noticed the feeling of emptiness that she leaves and has conveyed her best wishes for the future.

“There is no residence without Jose. It's going to be a little weird, actually. May he be very happy with his grandchildren, who I have seen playing around here with them in the sandbox. He deserves it. We’re going to miss him a lot.”

Finally, his colleague and good friend Juan José Yepes, the head of facilities at the Madrid High Performance Center, also wanted to dedicate some emotional words to him: "I haven't heard any athletes criticize José Ramón. The human quality that it has, with how great the residence is, does not fit in the Blume. Really, I’m telling you this from the heart. I’m going to miss you very, very much. See you later, Jota.”