Sprinting through the impressively long list of titles and trophies the young Catalan has already notched up, you have to keep reminding yourself that Maria is—still—a mere 19 years old! She is already, and by a long stretch, Spain’s best-ever female heptathlete, having broken no less than 53 Spanish records and being crowned World Champion Under 18 Heptathlon (in 2017) before striking Gold at last year’s European U-18 Championships, not to mention finding time to bring home the World Record U-18 Heptathlon.
A couple of days ago, at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Boras, Sweden, she became the first ever Spanish woman to exceed 6,000 points, topping the heptathlon podium at a dizzying 6150.
No wonder, then, that Maria Vicente lines up in the starting blocks as a winning new addition to the Richard Mille family by wearing the RM 007 Titanium. ‘I am honored to be part of the Richard Mille family, who supported me from the first day of our relationship. The Richard Mille story is truly inspiring for everyone and I share the same motivation about aiming continuously for the best beyond any limits. This weekend was my first competition with a Richard Mille watch on my wrist. I never felt comfortable wearing a watch when competing, but the experience with this RM 007 Titanium could not have been better. I was not only wearing a beautiful and modern machine on my wrist, I also felt extremely comfortable with it.’
Now standing 1.80 metres, ideal for an athlete, Maria first began to understand the strength and power of her own body via dance lessons. With her strong determination to prove herself, Maria’s philosophy gives a clue as to what drives her to jump so many hurdles, not least of all those she purposely sets for herself. Even if she wins, she is only truly happy if she crossed the line as regards her own targets.
Having already won so much, Maria knows full well that people are expecting a lot more of her. Expectations of this kind are not pressure—she sees them as pure motivación! Conscious that what she has achieved so far is impressive, Maria warns that it is nothing compared to what comes next, intoning ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet,’ with a Catalan accent.
