Interview with Victoria Padial
Date: 19-01-2010
Sportswoman of the biathlon.
andaluz.tv:
Victoria, our readers are going to be very surprised when they discover that under the sun of Andalucía there is a professional Winter sportswoman. Please explain to our readers what sort of people can be found in the Sierra Nevada & why naturally there can also be winter sportspeople at an international level.
Victoria: Sierra Nevada is an internationally recognized ski resort, the most southern in Europe, very attractive for it´s good climatic conditions & fabulous touristic environment that the city of Granada and the surrounding area offers. Because of this thousands of people from all over the world visit us year after year.
With the permanent help of the Royal Spanish Federation of Winter Sports (RFEDI), the Andalucian Federation of Winter Sports (FADI) & the Sierra Nevada Resort together with the voluntude and constant daily training, makes dreams possible for Andalucian skiers enabling them to compete & represent our country at international level.
andaluz.tv:
What is the difference between the Sierra Nevada and those resorts in Switzerland, Austria & Germany?
Victoria: For me the fundamental difference is the snow related culture of those countries, in Austria, Switzerland & Germany snow is a way of life, skiing is a form of transport, in the Sierra Nevada the snow is a form of pastime and diversion, an alternative diversion to all that offers the city of Granada.
andaluz.tv:
You are a young woman with only 21 years & in 2 months the Winter Olympics start in Vancouver. Will you be able to participate & what are your hopes?
Victoria: In order to participate in the Vancouver Olympics in my speciality the Biathlon, it is necessary to obtain 2 classifications:
1. Individual classification as an athlete. I have managed to reach the standard requirements and qualify on six occasions to go to Vancouver & the minimum requirement is to achieve this on only 2 occasions.
2. National Classication by country, men & women separately, is achieved by the total points of the number of participants of each country in determined international trials, the more participants the more points. In this moment I am the only Spanish woman competing at international level, therefore it is very difficult to obtain a direct place.
Now we find ourselves on a waiting list. If the countries ahead of us in the classification decide not to take all their athletes there will be free places & we could be able to go to Vancouver. We have hopes that this will happen & have the great illusion to be in Vancouver shortly.
If we manage to go to the Olympics it would be a very important experience for me, since I was small I have always loved the competition and dedicated myself to it, but I have never imagined that I could be so close to participating in the Olympic Games.
Seeing myself in Vancouver will give me answer to all the years of dedication to the sport, will give me great motivation to continue & carry on improving so that one day I could be amongst the best in the World.
andaluz.tv:
In Germany the sportspeople of the Biathlon are usually military or police and have excellent conditions. How does it work in Spain, who covers the costs?
Victoria: In Spain the Biathlon is a developing speciality, we are some years behind those great countries like Germany, Norway, Russia, France, etc.
The number of licenses in Spain can be counted in dozens and in other countries in dozens of thousands.
In Spain I am the only member of the national team and it is the Royal Spanish Federation of Winter Sports (RFEDI) that helps me to be able to assist & participate in international trials. To participate in national trials it is the Andalucian Federation of Winter Sports (FADI), who give me help.
Also I have a scholarship for a course from the Andalucian Olympic Foundation.
To help me finance part of my daily training, materials, equipment, travelling, etc. I count on the help of collaborators & personal sponsors, such as:
CAR Sierra Nevada ( High Performance Centre)
CEAR Juan Carlos I (High Performance Centre of Shooting Sports)
Cetursa Sierra Nevada (Ski & Mountain Station)
Dragonski (Technical Materials)
PsicoDepor (Sports Psychology Centre)
Salomon (Sport Materials)
Lastly I count on the help & economic support of my family, without which I would not be able to dedicate myself to this sport.
andaluz.tv:
During these weeks how do you organize your days, how many times do you train & were you able to spend Christmas in the house in Granada?
Victoria: During these weeks my days are intensive, training everyday skiing, shooting & gymnasium. Some days double sessions in the morning & afternoons because the Biathlon requires alot of dedication both physically and tecnically. At this stage of the season we concentrate more on quality than quantity of training as a build up to the competitions. The homework is finished, now is the time for fine tuning & staying on guard.
This Christmas in spite of daily training I was able to enjoy in Granada with my family & friends, recharging the batteries for the coming competitions.
andaluz.tv:
Could you show us an eating plan during one of your weeks of training & how many calories you need every day?
Victoria: The most important is that we maintain a varied & balanced diet. During my stays abroad in training and competitions we stay in apartments and orient the diet to our necessities & requirements, between 2.000 y 2.500 calories.
Our diet is based on combining different elements:
Breakfast: Soya milk with cereals, rice buiscuits, toasted rye bread, honey & pineapple juice.
Lunch: varied salads, pasta, rice, White meat or fish.
Dinner: Vegetable soup, omelette, salad, pasta, fruit.
andaluz.tv:
When we see the photographs of you at the summer training camp, one can see that you are very pretty with the ideal figure. Do you rely more on tecnique than strength?
Victoria: The biathlon is a complex combination of tecnique & strength. Since very young I have practiced long-distance skiing, three years ago I started with the emotional world of the Biathlon, therefore year after year we are profiling technical aspects because from long-distance skiing to the Biathlon there are many technical aspects to shape up.
The biathlon requires a great tecnical shooting ability to be amongst the best in the world, therefore each time we practice we are more specific to establish our shooting statistics & obtain better results.
Regarding strength, every day it seems to be more important for this sport. It is fundamental not only to develope our physical strength but also our physcological strength to stable sportspeople & not prejudice our performance.
andaluz.tv:
In the mountains of Germany it’s high season all year around. In winter skiing and in summer other mountain outdoor activities. The Sierra Nevada is an incredibly beautiful & natural place, why does it not have summer tourism?
Victoria: From what I know from CETURSA, the company that manages the Sierra Nevada ski station, they are making efforts aimed at promoting summer mountain activities. In my opinion very soon these efforts will have spectacular results.