Maider Unda

Maider was awarded as the best sports woman in the high Deba area. The event was sponsored by La Caixa, and took place last December the 20th in the Arkupe cultural centre in Aretxabaleta. These were the first DKS awards and the city councils of Leintz Gatzaga, Eskoriatza, Aretxabaleta, Aramaio, Oñati and Elgeta took part.

Besides to the best sports woman award, Maider also was awarded by the Aramaiona city council.

On December the 17th Maider visited the children in the Txagorritxu hospital in Vitoria. During the visit, sponsored by La Caixa and supported by BAT, Maider shared presents and answered children's questions along with Eneko Llanos and Irati Anda.

Photo by   BAT Basque Team

On Sunday December the 15th a wrestling exhibition was presented by Maider, Luis Crespo and Mikel Mardones in the Aramaiona sports center. As happened before, Yera Ortiz, Arrate Hojas, Ismael Zanbrano, Oroitz Bardon and Haritza Larrinaga, from the Munoa wrestling club of Barakaldo, helped during the exhibition. The event started with a warm-up session followed by some samples of fight techniques. To end up, several fights that surprised and delighted the attendance.    

     The exhibition.

 Click to see part of the exhibition in a ETB-1 sports show.

HOMAGE

At the end of the show, Aramaiona unexpectedly homaged Maider. After a traditional "bertso" and "aurresku", she was given a branch of flowers and a commemorative "txapela".

                             Images of the homage.

On December the 12th, Maider took part in the XV. Gala del Deporte Alavés (XV Sports Event of Álava) in Ciudad Deportiva del Baskonia, where she was awarded as one of the top sportwomen of the year due to her 5th position in the past Beijing Olympic Games.

During the event, organized by the "Asociación de Prensa Deportiva de Álava" (Sports Newspapers Association of Álava), some other sportsmen and women were also awarded:  Almudena Cid, Iker Romero, Amador Granado, Juan Manuel Uruñuela, TAU Cerámica Baskonia, Patxi Peula, Eneko Llanos, Alberto Zerain, Juanito Oiarzabal, Roberto Rojo "Gorri", Zuriñe Eciolaza, Yagoba Vizuete, Jaione Ayastuy, Aitor Karanka and the Waterpolo Club  Menditxo. 

   The sportsmen and women that took part in the XV. Gala del Deporte Alavés

On November 25th, Maider took part in the III. Jornadas Deportivas organized by the Colegio Público Reconquista in Cangas de Onís. Among others, Laia Sanz (8 times World Champion), Pepu Hernández (World Champion with the Spanish Basketball team) and Sheila Posada (European Skating Champion) took part.

                                                                     Photo by J. M. Carbajal

The event started with a brief intruduction where Maider explained the unknown sport of wrestling, then followed by her sport and professional experience. To end up, a wrestling exhibition where Maider was helped by Thomas Elbing, where some children could fight with Maider.

In the last issue of the Argia weekly magazine that was published on November 9th we can read an interview to Maider.

There we can read about the Beijing Olympic Games and her, about how she earns a leaving and about her plans for the future. The soft copy of Argia (in Basque) can be seen here.

You can also see this video which is part of the interview:

Last October the 29th, in San Sebastián's Palacio Miramar, the Artzai Gazta  association homaged Maider recognizing her sheperdess and sport career.  

BAT Basque Team received the Silver Kaiku, a prize that Artzai Gazta has been awarding the last eight years to people and associations that help to furtherance the shepperd cheese. Maider was awarded a diploma, as member of BAT, for combining her sport career with the manufacturing of cheese.

A representative of BAT Basque Team and Maider 

Just one year left for the election of the city that will host the Olympic Games in 2016, on October the 3rd Maider has been nominated ambassador of Madrid 2016.

Thirteen Olympic medalists, 24 Paralympic medalists, 19 Olympic diploma owners and 18 Paralympic diploma owners have committed themselves to make Madrid's Olympic dream known all over the world.

The great 5th position and the Olympic Diploma Maider brought from the Beijing Games have had a large coverage in the media. In fact, apart from being the first time the Spanish female wrestling competed in Olympics, Maider obtained the best position an Spanish wrestler has ever had in the Olympics.

Here you can see what the media said about what happened in the Olympic Games (in Basque and Spanish):

Berria: "Brontzea ia ukitu" (Almost touched the Bronze)

El Diario Vasco: "El sueño perdido de Maider Unda" (The lost dream of Maider Unda)

Gara: "Maider Unda soñó con el bronce hasta casi acariciarlo" (Maider Unda dreamnt with the bronze until almost touching it)

El País: "Unda realza la lucha pese a quedarse sin medalla" (Unda enhances the wrestling even without a medal)

RTVE: "Maider Unda se queda sin bronce" (Maider Unda losts the bronze)

Marca: "Maider Unda se queda sin bronce en -72 kilos" (Maider Unda losts the bronze in -72 kilos)

AS: "Maider Unda perdió el bronce ante Wieszczek" (Maider Unda losts the bronze against Wieszczek)

On Sunday September the 14th, Maider took part in a wrestling exhibition in the Krutzea fronton in Galdakao with the Munoa Wrestling Cub from Barakaldo. During the exhibition they showed some basics about wrestling, an unknown sport for many, where the spectators could see the wrestlers in action.

                        Maider and the Munoa Club wrestlers

The exhibition started with a warm-up session, followed by attach techniques. The speaker helped the spectators to understand the exercises. The show ended with different wrestling fights.

This event, followed by a large number of spectators, was part of Galdakao's Santakrutz celebrations.