The Club de Mar Ría de Aldán-Gandón has just added a new Olympic athlete to that list, which already includes medalists David Cal, Carlos Pérez and Teresa Portela. This is the veteran coach and paddler Araceli Menduíña, who was precisely Teresa Portela’s first technique. At 54 years old, she has just qualified for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in the K1-200 meter paracanoe modality. Since she was 18 years old, she has two screws in one of her ankles, which prevent her from having the game of flexion and extension of the joint.
A few days ago, the Canoeing World Championship was held in the German town of Duisburg, in which two of the most successful Canguese athletes won their ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Teresa Portela and Rodrigo Germade. But they were not the only ones. At the same time, the paracanoe tests were held (for athletes with some type of disability), valid for paralympic games which will be held a few weeks later in the French capital. And there it was at 54 years old, Araceli Menduíña. Mentor of some of the great athletes who left the Club de Mar Ría de Aldán and paddler herself. Menduíña started rowing in 1981, at the age of 12, when the club was taking its first steps and his uncle was the president of the entity. He will now also have his chance to Live the Olympic experience in a K-1 over 200 meters.
–How did you consider the possibility of seeking qualification for the Olympic Games?
–Since I was 18 years old I have two screws in my ankle, which prevent me from extending and flexing the joint. But I never thought that with that it would be possible to be part of the paracanoe team: I thought it had to be something more serious, like the amputation or absence of a leg. Exactly a year ago, the national paracanoe coach called me –who is Sonia Molanes, she is from Cangas and I trained her in the Ría de Aldán– and she asked me what test she was preparing at that point in the season. I told her that she was with the Veterans Marathon World Championship, but with the foot problem I couldn’t run and that I did it more because I wanted to do something. At that moment, the light bulb went on and she told me: “You are KL-3! Prepare the papers and compete in that category!” [risas]
How was that process?
“At first I didn’t believe it. Send video to the classifiers, they did confirm it was KL-3. It is a name that refers to the degree of disability: there is Kl-1, Kl-2 and Kl-3, which is the lowest level. So since then I started going to Seville one week a month, which is where the national paracanoe team is concentrated, and I started going to the World Cup events and the World Cup a few days ago.
– Until that call from your former pupil, had you never thought about the option of trying a paracanoe ride?
–Sometimes at the club we talked about it, but the truth is that it never went beyond a comment nor did we ever stop to see the scales and requirements to qualify.
– What is the dynamics of your workouts?
–The base of the national team is in Seville. There are athletes who are there all year round and others who, due to work and family reasons, prefer not to be there all the time. I am an official in the chemical analysis laboratory of the Higher Center for Scientific Research (CSIC) in Vigo and what I do is train three weeks a month in Cangas, with the program that the technicians prepare for me. They are progressive intensity training sessions and the fourth week I go to Seville to train with the rest of the team.
If they told me this a year ago I wouldn’t believe it. At first we made jokes at the club, but now it’s a reality. The truth is that it is a very nice brooch to a lifetime linked to sport
–How was the road until you reached the World Cup in Duisburg?
-Very complicated. In November 2022 I had a dislocation in my arm and I was on absolute rest for a month. Then I had to recover by working little by little and at the same time a lot at a time [risas]. On March 15 we had the selective to go to the World Cup and I got the minimum.
–In the World Cup there were six places at stake for the Paralympic Games, how was the competition?
– There were six places, but there is a possibility that two athletes per country will attend. I was sixth and even if I was seventh I would also get the ticket because the first and fourth were English. The possibility of qualifying for Paris 2024 was feasible, but any mistake could cost you dearly and leave you out. Between the second classified and the seventh we are all in the same second.
A medal is not something unreasonable. Gold does seem to me that it is very far away because between the first and the rest there is a lot of difference. But from the second to the seventh we are all in a second and the bronze could be possible
How do you remember the regattas?
–I got the direct qualification for the final after the first round or heat. And in the final I rowed without looking anywhere, just forward. You can’t waste time and you have to be focused on doing your regatta and nothing else. When I entered the finish line it seemed to me that I had achieved it, but until the final results come out you cannot be sure.
–If a year ago they told you that you were going to qualify for the Games, what would you have thought?
I wouldn’t believe it. At first we made jokes at the club, but now it’s a reality. The truth is that it is a very nice brooch to a lifetime linked to sport.
–And the possibility of thinking about a medal?
-It’s not something unreasonable. Gold does seem to me that it is very far away because between the first and the rest there is a lot of difference. But from second to seventh we are all in a second and bronze could be possible. I will also say that all my rivals could very well be my daughters! I am 54 years old and the next oldest is 30 or 32 years old. But I am very competitive and I am not going to give up.
–Who do you sense may be your toughest rivals?
-The English is very fast and makes a difference. Then there is a French paddler, who I’m sure is going to prepare very well because the Games are in her country. And the German is also there. We’ll see what happens!
How will you prepare for the Games?
-In principle this month we have absolute rest. Maybe I’ll go out into the water, but I don’t see it as training but rather as enjoying the estuary and the sea. Soon we will receive instructions and preparation routines.
“My motto is to go scoop by shovel and that is what has brought me to Paris”
“Teresa Portela is the demonstration that whoever wants and works can achieve what they want”
– A few days before you got the ticket for Paris 2024, Teresa Portela got it, who was your pupil in the Ría de Aldán. What does it mean to you to see her in her seventh Games?
–He is a source of pride for all of us and a reference for all. Teresa is the demonstration of who she wants and she does her part by working hard, she can achieve what she wants. It is quite an example.
What would you highlight about her?
-All. His discipline, his ability to work, being able to go day by day and scoop by scoop to achieve the goals he sets. Not only that, but also their ability to make a living out of it. That is very important because it means training a lot, eating well and resting.
–When you started working with Teresa, was it possible to even imagine something similar to what you have achieved?
It was impossible to imagine this. It must be borne in mind that at that time there was no Olympian. Now, after his successes and those of David Cal and Carlos Pérez, when you see someone who stands out, the light comes on and you think that maybe he could go far. At that time all this was unthinkable. The first thing was to try to enter the Galician Sports Technification Center (CGTD), then in the national team and later in international regattas.
2023-09-05 04:07:21
#rivals #daughters #competitive #give
