Playing League of Legends While Competing in the Olympics
For the past week, the Paris Olympics has been the focal point of the sports world. Alongside fierce competitions, this year’s Olympics has also featured many unique side stories. Interestingly, it has drawn the attention of the international League of Legends community with a “funny yet sad” tale involving an Olympic athlete.
The main character in this story is Pau Echaniz, a rower from the Spanish delegation. He is considered one of Spain’s “golden hopes” at this Olympic Games. The reason for this is that in 2023, Pau Echaniz achieved remarkable results by finishing second at the U23 World Championship and becoming the champion of the U23 European Championship in men’s single kayak rowing.
However, on the day of the final competition for men’s single kayak rowing at the Paris Olympics, Pau Echaniz only secured a bronze medal. The athlete expressed disappointment with this result and revealed the reason behind his failure to compete for the gold medal. Humorous enough, the reason is directly related to League of Legends.
Is the Attraction of League of Legends Too Strong?
“Right before the day of the final competition, I played 2 games of League of Legends. Unfortunately, I lost both matches, which made me really angry and not in the best mindset before competing. As a result, I was careless and didn’t perform well. Even more sadly, in League of Legends, I am stuck in bronze rank, and my performance at the Olympics this year is also a bronze medal,” athlete Pau Echaniz unexpectedly shared with the Spanish media.
Sharing with the Spanish media about his bronze medal, Pau Echaniz expressed regret for playing 2 games of League of Legends right before the final competition: “Right before the day of the final competition, I played 2 games of League of Legends. Unfortunately, I lost both matches, which made me really angry and not in the best mindset before competing. Even more sadly, in League of Legends, I am stuck in bronze rank, and my performance at the Olympics this year is also a bronze medal.”
There are many opportunities to climb ranks in League of Legends, but it’s unfortunate that this athlete chose to play ranked matches right before competing for a medal. Perhaps the two consecutive losses and the unnecessary arguments during the matches significantly affected Pau Echaniz’s mindset. The audience already knows the outcome; from being the “golden hope” of the Spanish delegation, Pau only secured a bronze medal in his specialty.
This disappointing result for Pau Echaniz has truly taught the Spanish athlete a significant lesson. In future tournaments, no matter how much he loves League of Legends, this athlete will likely steer clear of the game by Riot Games to maintain a relaxed mindset and achieve the best results.