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This past Thursday a new edition of the Iberdrola Women’s Sailing League, which will start in three weeks and will have the waters of Calpe, Getxo, Madrid, El Arenal and Alicante as venues. Precisely, in the Royal Nautical Club of Calpe The next April 22 and 23 will begin a competition that will feature the best athletes of the different types of sailing in a demanding circuit.
After navigating the waters of the Mediterranean, it will be the turn for those of the Cantabrian Sea: in the Royal Maritime Club of Abra (Getxo)on May 20 and 21. The Royal Nautical Club of Madrid, in the San Juan reservoir, on June 10 and 11; he El Arenal Yacht Club, on September 9 and 10; and the grand finale in the Alicante Royal Regatta Clubfrom October 20 to 22, complete this circuit.
Athletes of unparalleled prestige will participate, such as the Olympic medalist Natalia Via-Dufresnethe ten times world champion of freestyle Gisela Pulido, or the members of the youth team Iset Segura and Mar Gil. This is a unique opportunity to see the present and the future of Spanish women’s sailing compete.
“The creation of this circuit is a step forward”
Natalia Via-Dufresne
For Natalia Via-Dufresne, winner of two Olympic medals and member of the Dorsia Covirán team, winner of the 2022 edition of the Iberdrola League, “The creation of this circuit is a step forward.” The Catalan explains that “the new format of the League, in which the organizing clubs make the boats available to the teams”is a very important point to take into account in order to encourage participation.
Close to turning fifty, Natalia is still active as an athlete and recognizes the need to support and promote the new generations: “My whole life has revolved around sailing and I feel happy sailing. Initiatives like this make it easier for more people to practice our sport and that will mean more women competing.”
Mar Gil, who already competed with Natalia last year, highlights that “Learning from her has been great and I have been able to verify that age does not matter in the world of sailing. It is about adding moments and sharing the passion for sailing”
In this new edition of the Iberdrola League, Via-Dufresne will have in its team, among others, Gisela Pulido, who currently sails in Formula Kite, the new Olympic sailing modality. Precisely, the Catalan attends AS with her mind already set on this League and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Gisela Pulido faces “I’m really looking forward to the Iberdrola Sailing League because it’s something I’ve never done, since I hardly haggled before”. “It gives me new challenges, new experiences and learning for my Olympic campaign. I am very motivated, since all these things always add up,” she says.
He will share a team in several regattas with Natalia Via-Dufresne, of whom he has good words: “There is no better person who can teach me, as she has sailed 470. I’m willing to learn and I’m delighted”. The Catalan goes from freestyle to a slower class and believes that “it will be good for her tactics and slower decision-making”.
“My goal now is to gain weight and, from there, start thinking about medals in the Games, which is my dream”
Gisela Pulido
“It has nothing to do with what he did before because freestyle ended up being judged by some judges and it was all more subjective; now he will be the one who reaches the finish line first. He has a mental thing and anticipate what is going to happen. Now they are training sessions for many hours in the water, more volume and physique”, points out the sailor about the change that going from practicing freestyle to Formula Kite.
Of course, what he already has in mind are the 2024 Paris Games, although there is still more than a year left and he prefers to think in the short-medium term: “The maximum objective now is to gain weight because I have to go from 62kg to a minimum of 68kg and, from there, start thinking about medals, which is my dream.”
Regarding Iberdrola’s support for women’s sports, Gisela indicates that it is “very necessary because the world of sport has always been very masculine and women have had fewer opportunities, now it seems that there is much more support and that is incredible.” “I feel very proud to belong to the Iberdrola family,” she says before acknowledging that although she was born in Barcelona and has now returned due to logistics and to spend more time with her dog, she feels she belongs to Tarifa for all the years she has passed and hopes to return there after the Games.
*This content sponsored by IBERDROLA has been prepared by Diario AS.