Emotional farewell to Pablo Herrera in Castellón crowned with WEVZA gold
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This past weekend, Pablo Herrera and his inseparable partner Adrián Gavira triumphed at the WEVZA zonal tournament held at the Pinar de Castellón beach thereby providing an ideal farewell to Herrera on home ground to complete an unforgettable career spanning for more than two decades. The Castellón native, the only Beach Volleyball player to have competed at the Olympic Games as many as six times (including most recently at Paris 2024), said goodbye to elite sport surrounded by his family and friends after standing on the podium for one last time at the age of 42. Herrera is a two-time European champion – in 2005 with Raul Mesa and in 2013 with Gavira.
In the final, Herrera and Gavira, who have been a team for the last 16 years, defeated their fellow Spaniards Pablo Perez and Nathan Matios very convincingly (21-12, 21-13) in the large arena on the sand of Pinar beach with a capacity of 400 spectators.
The farewell tribute to Herrera was organised by the Valencian Region Volleyball Federation thanks to the firm commitment of three institutions: the Castellón City Council, the Provincial Council and the Generalitat Valenciana. In fact, the emotional ceremony was attended by Mayor Begoña Carrasco, the deputy Iván Sánchez and the General Director of Sports Luis Cervera, as well as Arturo Ruiz, President of the Volleyball Federation of the Valencian Community. All of them highlighted the values transmitted by an exemplary sportsman very much loved by all on the world circuit.
For his part, Herrera did not hide his emotion after participating in his last competition surrounded by family and friends:
“I have come this far, I have given everything I could and even more. All this would have been impossible without the support of my family, who have given up many things so that I could fulfil my dream. These have been the best years of my life and now I want to devote time to my family,”
said Herrera, who has put himself at the service of the institutions to continue promoting and growing Beach Volleyball: “I have to step aside, but I hope for many more tournaments here at home to promote this sport that has been my life.”
Herrera, finally, has left the door open to play regional competitions with his brother Daniel, with whom last week he featured at a stop of the National Beach Volleyball Circuit also held in Castellón.