Facundo Olezza

facu3Facundo Olezza may be one of the youngest members of the FINNTEAM but he dreams big. He started in the Finn in early 2015 after a move from Argentina to the Dinghy Academy in Valencia. His commitment to the task ahead is unstinting and courageous.

 


PROFILE

Name: Facundo Olezza
Country: Argentina
Date of Birth: 30/08/1994
Hometown: Buenos Aires
ISAF ID: ARGFO1

The choice

Facundo-Olezza-Valencia-2015-pic2-1000-Robert Deaves“When I made the choice of coming here I said to myself. “One day you will be 60 years old and you will look back and say, what have you done with your life?” I I am 20 now and I can do this. I am here [in Valencia] and training and improving really fast. I don’t want to be 60 or 70 having given up this opportunity. I don’t mind if I don’t make it to the Olympics or don’t get a medal. I personally think I will because I have it in my mind all the time, but I won’t regret it because I don’t think that is it time I lost. I have met incredible people, that always give the best to help me.”

“I started sailing the Finn in Feb 2015. Before that I sailed 49er in Argentina. I am in Spain in Valencia training in the Dinghy Academy which is a sport training centre for people like me that live far away. It’s difficult in Argentina to train there and travel to Europe where the championships are, so to be here is really nice, the travelling is so much easier.”

Opportunity

“We have many boats here, and I really like the Finn. I started sailing Finn because I couldn’t sail the 49er any more because it was really hard to have two boats, one in Argentina to train and one in Europe to race, so I couldn’t afford both boats I had to quit, and then this opportunity came up.”

“I always wanted to go back to sailing alone but my weight didn’t allow me to sail the Laser because it was more than 84 kg and then I talked with another Argentinean who had been here for a year and a half and I gave it a shot. I came here with all my racing funds, and I don’t regret it.”

No regrets

Facundo-Olezza-Valencia-2015-pic4-1000-Robert Deaves“This boat is wonderful. Every day that I sail, I don’t regret any decision I made to come here, leaving my home, my family and my friends. Its just amazing to have this wonderful shot of making my dream come true, which is winning an Olympic medal.”

“Right now I am putting all my efforts to try and qualify for the Rio Olympics in 2016. And after that I will definitely, if my economic resources allow me, give a shot to Tokyo in 2020. I hope that I can do the best to qualify for Rio. For sure I will train really hard and give my best sailing and keep on trying.”

Rio qualification

“There are two qualification regattas for the Olympics in Rio. The first one is in Takapuna in New Zealand and the second one, for the continental place, is in Miami in the United States, in January 2016. This is not so good for me, because I am training in Valencia, so to make these two trips around the globe is just a bit hard in economic terms. So right now I am trying to find every resource that I can. I am just wondering if I can race these two regattas. I am trying to look for sponsors or people who support me. All my family are giving what they can to support me but it is not enough because of the equipment I need, the travel, the containers, my coach, my sails. This is expensive and it’s really hard for me to do both regattas.”

Crowdfunding

Facundo-Olezza-Valencia-2015-pic3-1000-Robert Deaves“It’s really hard to achieve that on my own so if people make the crowdfunding possible it would be my chance to achieve my dream, my Olympic dream. I always wanted to go to an Olympics and hopefully win a medal. That’s all what I dream about. Every day when I go to sleep I always think about the medal. I don’t think of anything else.”

“I will give all my efforts to reach my dream. I could be in Argentina with my friends, happy there and studying but I am here. It’s hard to be here, away from everything I have ever known, but I think that I won’t regret it.”

“I have seen the Olympic video when Ben wins the medal 1,000 times. That feeling that he knows he has done it, when he finishes, and I think in that moment, all the training all the hard work, all the suffering and all the pain, just disappears. We’ll all do that for the gold, but that feeling is something I want to feel someday.”

“I can’t rest you know and I got a back injury recently. Luca always punishes me because of this but when I rest I feel that I am letting my family down somehow. I don’t want them to think that I am here on holiday. I want no rest. I just want to give my best and train. I need to grow up in some ways, but I think it’s better to be like this than to not train because I am lazy. But of course I need to grow up mentally.”

“This training centre is amazing. The people here, all of us training for the same or similar it just makes for a good environment.”

Share this post

Leave a Reply