Family and friends of Ray Zapata gathered from early Sunday to follow his performance at the Tokyo Olympics. "There were many of us and we couldn't fit at home, so we decided to go to our bar, the Bam Bam. There, we felt the support of all of Spain, Lanzarote, his friends and the club," the gymnast's father, Julio Zapata, explained on Radio Lanzarote.
Julio speaks proudly of his son: "It has been exciting since he was born, thank God Ray has been a tireless fighter. We are a warrior family, who have fought hard to overcome. He doesn't stop. When he intends to do something in life, when he is going to do it, he tries and keeps trying until he achieves it. That is very good on his part." In addition, he adds that Ray "is very good at any sport he did, he played basketball, soccer and he was right with gymnastics."

Ray's father says that "he has always been very active, with a lot of movement, but the truth is that it never crossed our minds that he would achieve this feat and even more so here in Spain, which is a little more difficult for us." Ray's family is of Dominican origin and arrived in Lanzarote when the Olympian was nine years old. "We have been very well received here, the people of Lanzarote are friendly people, they have supported us a lot," he says gratefully.
Asked about when Ray will return to the island, he said that he now has a very tight schedule, but he has stated that as soon as he comes "everyone will find out".