Who was Jilieta Gallego? Spanish long jumper among 69 dead in train crash

Cranes lift broken carriages as rescuers search for victims after two trains collided in Urda, Spain. Spanish long jumper Julieta Gallego, 24, was among the dead in a train crash in Toledo province that left at least 69 dead. The Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA) expressed its condolences following her death on Thursday.“The Spanish athletics family joins in mourning the death of Julieta Gallego, an AD Sprint athlete, in a train accident that occurred in Urda (Toledo),” the federation said in a statement to X, offering its support to her family, friends and teammates at the club.Gallego represented Madrid’s AD Sprint and regularly participated in the Spanish club championships. She set a personal best of 5.90 meters (19 ft 4 in) in the long jump in Antequera in 2023.“There are wounds that go to the very heart of the athletic family. Today, the sport mourns the death of Julieta, a life before her that was unjustly extinguished,” RFEA president Raul Chapado told Spanish newspaper ABC.Two high-speed trains collided on Wednesday in the second fatal accident in less than a year on a rail line linking Madrid with the southern region of Andalusia.Former Spanish Minister Fátima Báñez also died after Wednesday’s collision. Between 2011 and 2018, she served as Minister for Employment and Social Security. Her death was confirmed by the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), which she chairs.Rescue teams continue to search for survivors among the debris. The accident also left more than 100 injured.The two trains were carrying a total of 544 people when they collided between the towns of Mora and Orgaz near Toledo. Several wagons derailed in the accident.