Former Olympic gymnast Almudena Cid has renewed the call for Spain to recognise the years athletes dedicate to elite competition in their employment and pension records. Speaking on La Sexta’s Salvados, Cid said many former athletes reach the end of their careers with permanent physical problems, financial difficulties and insufficient protection for retirement.
Cid appeared on the programme alongside former basketball player Fernando Romay and Lola Fernández Ochoa. Together, they argued for a fairer retirement system for athletes who spent much of their lives representing Spain. Cid said their sporting history and effort should be reflected in their working lives rather than being remembered only through the injuries they suffered.
Many Spanish Olympians have said that they either did not pay contributions during much of their careers or did so insufficiently. As a result, they face difficulties completing the contribution periods needed for a full pension. Romay explained that, although he could retire, he would not be entitled to 100% of the pension corresponding to him. Other former athletes said they would need to continue working for years to complete the required periods.
The issue was also raised at an event held in Spain’s Congress of Deputies in October 2024. Medallists and elite athletes described the contrast between spending decades competing at the highest level and failing to build sufficient pension rights. They pointed to sports scholarships, a lack of employment contracts and inadequate contribution arrangements as factors that left their working records incomplete.
Fernández Ochoa also said that many athletes are still competing in conditions she described as involving “false self-employment”. Although they work under the authority of sports federations, they do not always have an employment relationship that fully guarantees their social rights.
The programme also addressed the physical and emotional consequences of retirement. Cid said she underwent hip surgery and has had a prosthesis since she was 43. She argued that elite sport can leave athletes with lifelong injuries and medical conditions, while many receive little follow-up once their careers end.
The former gymnast said the campaign is supported by former Olympians, trade unions and specialists in sports law. While athletes acknowledge recent regulatory advances, they believe these have not resolved the underlying problem: people who devoted their youth to competing for Spain can reach retirement with low pensions and incomplete employment records. Their aim is for that effort to be reflected not only in medals and injuries, but also in their social rights.
Sources: El País Deportes.