A small neighbourhood on the Spanish island of Mallorca will have two representatives in the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo. One of them is a well-known footballer in his homeland, but also in England, while the other, a gymnast, is virtually unknown. Still, they will both go for gold.Rafa Mir, son of a footballer Magin, started playing football as a youth player in Valencia. He signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018, but didn’t feature regularly for the Premier League team. He was given chances to impress on loans at Las Palmas, Nottingham Forest and Huesca. The latter proved the most fruitful, as Rafa bagged 24 goals in 51 matches for the club, helping the Azulgranas win promotion to La Liga.Atletico Madrid reportedly hold an interest in Wolves striker Rafa Mir.However, the Spanish side will only make a move for Mir if they sell Saul and he isn’t used in a swap deal for Antoine Griezmann. [source: @diarioas]#WWFC | #Wolves pic.twitter.com/FyuHIYom4D— Talking Wolves (@TalkingWolves) July 18, 2021 The 24-year-old forward played for Spain U21 side and managed to score five goals in ten matches. Now he is a member of his country’s Olympic football team, along with the likes of Unai Simon, Pau Torres, Oscar Mingueza, Eric Garcia and Pedri.Rafa’s cousin Nicolau competes in a totally different sport. There are no goals, no ball to chase and kick and usually not quite as many noisy fans – but he is still proud to be a part of Spain’s 320-athlete-strong Olympic committee. Nicolau is actually one of the people who were happy at the postponement of the Games. He’s been nurturing a shoulder injury for most of 2019 and the Covid-inducted delay gave him just enough time to recover completely and get back to full fitness.#tbt to one of my bests routines ever 🙆🏻♂️ Only one place from World Championship Final 📈 pic.twitter.com/PA9m2chijj— nicolaumir (@nicolaumir_) January 7, 2021 Although the football tournament will start in the city of Sapporo rather than in Tokyo, the cousins are hoping that they will get to spend some time together in the Olympic Village. As it is with most of the aspects of these much-maligned Games, the manner in which the athletes spend their time will depend heavily on the Covid restrictions and regulations. You may not hear about Nicolau Mir until the next Olympic Games, but Rafa is certainly looking up to him. The footballer’s favourite athlete is the gymnast.”I am famous for football, but my idol is Nicolau.”##EDITORS_CHOICE##The pair of Mirs is looking for a pair of medals in faraway Japan. Let’s see if they make it. The Games will be officially open on Friday, 23 July and will last two weeks.
