Ignacio Galán with Spanish race walker María Pérez in Bilbao after her two gold medals at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo

The chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, welcomed María Pérez to Torre Iberdrola, the company's headquarters in Bilbao, today to congratulate her in person on making history at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The race walker won two new gold medals in the 20 and 35 kilometre race walking events, a milestone she had already achieved at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. With her four world titles — an unprecedented achievement in Spanish athletics, both male and female — the Granada native has established herself as the best Spanish athlete of all time, both for her track record and her impact on the history of Spanish sport.

María is part of the Iberdrola Ambassadors programme, made up of 35 athletes and role models who promote female representation and leadership in sport and whom the company seeks to give as much exposure as possible in the media and on social networks.

Ignacio Galán congratulated her on behalf of all the company's employees, saying ‘We feel immense pride and admiration for athletes like María, who through their hard work, sacrifice and commitment represent the best of Spanish sport. Her example inspires thousands of people and shows that talent, when accompanied by perseverance, has no limits. For Iberdrola, it is an honour to have partners like her in promoting equality for and representation of women in sport. Her success in Tokyo is a triumph for all of us for the values we share: self-improvement, teamwork and passion for what we do.’

The race walker said ‘I’d like to thank Iberdrola for its unconditional support, which has been essential in my career, and also for its commitment to women's sport. It’s an honour for me to be an ambassador for this great project. Being part of the Jury of Honour for the Iberdrola Supera Awards is another step forward in this relationship, at a very special time for Spanish sports. I’m proud to share values that promote talent and representation for women in sport’.

Two decades promoting equality through women's sport in Spain

Since 2016, Iberdrola has been the main promoter of  women's sport. Today it supports 35 national federations through its sponsorship and lends its name to more than 100 competitions. Thanks to its commitment over the last nine years, the number of female members of these federations has increased by more than 80% to nearly 820,000. 

Every year, the Group presents the Iberdrola Supera Awards to recognise and raise awareness about the best projects launched in Spain to promote gender equality through sport. These awards, with top prizes of €50,000, select projects in the categories of Supera Base, Supera Competición, Supera Inclusión, Supera Social, Supera Difusión and Supera Impulso Rural. 

The electricity company's support also extends to paralympic sport. Since its creation in 2005, it has worked with the Spanish Paralympic Committee's (CPE) paralympic sport support plan (or ADOP) to provide our athletes with the best conditions to carry out their preparation and participate in all competitions with a guarantee of success.

Likewise, Iberdrola, through its Foundation in Spain and together with the CPE, offers paralympic athletes who are beneficiaries of the ADOP plan scholarships for university and postgraduate training. This partnerships agreement aims to facilitate the professional training of athletes for their future integration into the labour market once their careers are over.

The company is also one of the partners in the Women’s Universe programme, a comprehensive initiative for the development and advancement of women in society that carries out activities that contribute to social transformation through the values of women's sport.