España first represented Spain at the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where he was 11th in the short race. He won his first medal the following year at the 2002 European Athletics Indoor Championships, taking the bronze medal over 3000 m. Outdoors, he came eleventh in the 5000 m at the 2002 European Athletics Championships. He came close to another medal indoors at the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships, finishing a fraction of a second behind the bronze medallist Luke Kipkosgei. In 2005 he won the 3000 m gold medal at the 2005 European Cup and went on to compete at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, where he was disqualified in the heats.