We talked to Gustavo Martínez, Patricia Cantero and Silvia Mas, members of the Spanish Olympic Sailing Team about their preparatory gathering for the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games
The Lanzarote race course continues to conquer the hearts of international Olympic sailing teams who find in the island a safe, warm and ideal place for their training at this time of year.
Lanzarote has established itself as a perfect destination for the practice of this sport and this was reflected in the last “Lanzarote Winter Series 470” held in mid-November. Twenty crews representing 12 countries participated in the competition: Israel, France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Turkey, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Portugal, the USA and Spain. Several of these teams will be fighting for medals at the next Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021.
The sailor and coach of the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, Gustavo Martínez Doreste, has for years been the best ambassador of the island as the perfect destination for the practice of this sport: “We chose to come to Lanzarote because we need to be continously sailing in an environment offering waves and a high percentage of wind over 14 knots.”
During their training meetings they don’t limit their focus to purely sporting aspects, but also work with engineers who carry out performance studies and confirm the best ways to sail and optimise the equipment, as well as tuning and testing with shipyards to achieve the best preparation for Tokyo 2021.
Among the crews led by Gustavo Martínez is the 470 team formed by Patricia Cantero and Silvia Mas, from Gran Canaria and Mallorca respectively. Both sailors are favourites to win a medal in the next Olympics after being champions of the 470 World Cup in 2019.
Patricia Cantero confirms that “the island is an ideal winter pre-season location because the wind conditions are spectacular and, unlike in other places in Europe, effective training can be carried out.” The Canarian sailor also emphasises that the magnificent qualities that Lanzarote has for practising this sport have favoured the formation of a pool of top level sailors, who compete in international competitions in all classes.
For her part, Silvia Mas affirms that “Lanzarote is a place where there is always wind and this facilitates more constant training. The warm temperatures in the winter season allow the sailors to stay on the water longer and improve their sailing technique. It is worth noting that the variety of conditions that are found depending on the area of the island where they are sailing, facilitates the practice of different styles of sailing according to the conditions of the sea.“
The Spanish Olympic Sailing Team will be continuing to prepare next year’s international competitions in Lanzarote until the end of January, and we’d like to wish them the best of luck in their sporting endeavours in 2021.
