The mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León Machín, and the councilor of Sports, Juanjo López, received during the afternoon of this past Wednesday the two European Sailing Champions in 420.
The Plenary Hall hosted this official reception, after the recent triumph of this young couple of sailors from Lanzarote who achieved last Monday, on July 10, the Trophy in Polish waters as new European champions.
Miguel Ángel Morales Hernández and Alejandro Martín Corujo, both born in Arrecife and residents on the island, are the new European champions in the 420 Sailing category.
Morales and Martín have a great sporting record: the world runner-up, the Spanish runner-up and the third place in the Spanish Cup.
The sailors of the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife were accompanied by the president Julio Romero Ortega and the colleagues of the 420 fleet who will participate at the end of this month of July in the world championship, which will be held in the waters of the Mediterranean, in the Spanish province of Alicante.
Yonathan de León was pleased with this new triumph of these young sailors from Lanzarote, recalling the great tradition and connection of Arrecife and Lanzarote to the world of sailing, and the sea. The mayor thanked these athletes for taking the name of Arrecife around the world and for the successes achieved, being an example for all.
De León said: "I'm not saying goodbye to you, because I'm sure that soon I'm going to receive you as World Champions, at least that's what we all want."
Juanjo López, Councilor for Sports, said: "You know that from the Department of Sports of the City Council of Arrecife, we have the doors open to all sports. You were not going to be less because, in addition, you usually brighten our day with national and international titles making the sport of Arrecife and Lanzarote bigger."
For his part, Julio Romero, president of the RCNA, thanked the Arrecife City Council for its continued collaboration with the RCNA in the different sporting and cultural events that are held.
Romero added that "without the collaboration of the institutions our work would be very complicated, therefore, I thank the mayor and the Councilor for Sports for this reception, which, without a doubt, values the work that these guys do every day."
Yonathan de León presented all the athletes, who in addition to carrying the trophy and medals, were accompanied by the good quarry of sailing from Lanzarote, with a book by Agustín de la Hoz, reminding them who the illustrious writer from Lanzarote was.
The mayor joked with the sailors. "To be world champions, they will have to read the book first." This book has been published with the cultural support of the Arrecife City Council.
Finally, the president of the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife presented Yonathan de León and Juanjo López with commemorative shirts of the César Manrique Regatta with a logo designed by Manrique for the RCNA. Manrique, born in Arrecife in 1919, is a favorite son of Arrecife, and in 2019 the centenary of his birth was commemorated. He died on September 25, 1992.
