Jose Manuel Franco, Secretary of State for Sports and President of the Higher Sports Council, has awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit posthumously to golfer Celia Barquín in an emotional ceremony held at the RCG La Barganiza attended by his parents Marcos and Miriam.
Celia Barquín, Gold Medal of the Royal Order
Franco has defined her as “a happy, fighter and loved person, who had a passion for life” The leader added during the award ceremony: “This is how we will remember one of the promises of Spanish golf.”
The tribute to the player was also attended, among others, by Gonzaga Escauriaza, president of the RFEG, and Alfredo Álvarez, president of the Golf Federation of the Principality of Asturias. Born in the Cantabrian town of Puente de San Miguel on July 6, In 1996, Celia Barquín was a regular member of the Spanish national teams and continued her sports and academic career at Iowa State University -where she was studying civil engineering- after train in Spain.
Runner-up of Spain Benjamín in 2006 and champion of Spain for Children in 2010, Celia Barquín entered the Blume National Golf School in the 2012-2013 promotion, previously endorsed by her first two international wins at the Chiberta Grand Prix in 2011 and 2012, a victory that he repeated in 2013.
Outstanding team player, where she contributed her undoubted quality at all times, Celia Barquín contributed to winning the bronze and silver medals at the Women’s Absolute European Team Championships in 2015 and 2016, the prelude to her great individual success, which took place on the 28th of July 2018, when she was proclaimed brilliant individual European champion.
On the Slovakian course of Penati Golf Club, he brilliantly beat all his rivals, winning a title that had previously added to the Spanish track record at the hands of Carlota Ciganda (2004 and 2008), Belén Mozo (2006), Luna Sobrón ( 2014 ), Maria Parra (2015).