Arrietta Rodríguez (San Sebastián, 2002) does not stop answering congratulatory messages that arrive on her cell phone after it was confirmed on Tuesday … their qualification for the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympic Games that start on February 6. This woman from San Sebastián, who barely stays at home and is either in Switzerland, traveling to France or moving to Italy, will compete in the alpine ski slalom modality on Wednesday, February 18. A date that you will have marked on your calendar for the rest of your life. Yesterday he finished in XXX position in Chamonix in a test corresponding to the European Cup.
– To what extent had you set your goal of attending your first Games this season?
– I was aware that it was an Olympic year, but I didn’t want to focus exclusively on that, because I had many objectives to achieve beforehand. The results I have achieved have allowed me to place myself in the world ranking again among the top 100 and that has led me to qualify, but until a week ago I did not know what the criteria were. My goals were the European Cup and improving my position in the FIS ranking. I didn’t want to get too excited about the Games so that it wouldn’t be a disappointment if I didn’t qualify. I preferred to go without making much noise, working quietly and in the end I achieved it.
– It’s a dream.
– Yes, because the best go to the Games. I’m happy. I have a pretty good level, but I’m not yet ready to beat the best. I am realistic, although I am going to go out as if I were going to win. That’s for sure. I’m in a good moment, skiing very well. My philosophy has been very clear. Give my best every day and the results will come.
– She is the second Gipuzkoan in the history of the Winter Games after Silvia del Rincón, who participated in Albertville 1992, also in alpine skiing.
– I was not aware of that information. I find it incredible. What I had seen was that there had not been a Basque representation for 28 years, the last one being Ainhoa Ybarra, but I didn’t know that I was going to be the second from Gipuzkoa.
– How is the moment of descent planned?
– I am aware that simply because of the number I am going to have, it will be difficult to achieve a good result, because the first girls to come out will be the best skiers in the world right now and I am not yet at their level, but my mentality is going to be to go out all out to beat them. It won’t be because of attitude.
– Why is the number so important?
– Matters for the starting order. Normally, the descending order of the 15 skiers with the best classification is drawn and from 16th place onwards they are ordered in order in the ranking. I will start last and, depending on how the track is, depending on what is marked or broken, it will be more difficult for me. The track becomes slower and it is practically impossible to do the same time as those who start first. Apart from the fact that their level is already higher, they have that advantage. We usually compete on pure ice and when it is very hard it doesn’t make much difference, but if it is a little soft, it becomes noticeable and the conditions become more complicated.
– Do you know the Cortina d’Ampezzo track?
– I have never competed in Cortina, although I feel like it was my home, because the Spanish Federation is based in Pozza di Fassa, which is in Val di Fassa, practically next to Cortina. It gives me a lot of confidence, because I have always felt that place as if it were my second home in Italy, in the Dolomites. The snow is usually compact, not very aggressive, so I think I can be good at it. Of course, I have no idea what it’s going to be like that day, because it varies a lot depending on the temperature. This is a sport in constant change and adaptation. Neither the route, nor the snow, nor the visibility is the same.
– Is the Olympic event going to change its season in the short term?
– I have the Games in my sights, but now I have two European Cup events and I have been away from home since the first of the month competing practically daily. The European Cup is important to be able to obtain a number at the end of the season. I want to add points and be among the top 30.
– He will have in mind to compete in the World Cup in the medium term.
– They had signed me up for the first test, which was held in November, but I had a lot of back problems and had to return home and stop for a month and a half. I wasn’t dodging badly, but it took me a little while to get back. The three European Cup tests I have had this season were in December, just after I had been injured and I didn’t do badly at all. I returned home for Christmas, I rested, I refilled myself with energy again and in January things went quite well for me. I have skied quite well, I have not gotten off the podium in all the FIS events in which I have participated and I have taken some victories. I’m in a good moment.
– Why did you opt for the slalom modality?
– I have specialized in slalom, but sometimes I train giant to complement it. I like slalom because it is the most technical and what I am best at and it has the shortest curve. Between one pole and another there is between 9 and 14 meters of distance and the radius of the skis is 12. It is quite explosive, because you have to make the perfect turn in less than a second. The super-G and downhill modalities are pure speed and I don’t like them that much.
– In what sense do you still have room for improvement?
– Right now I have reached a point where I have acquired a very good technical base. What I have to improve is tactically, in the line I have to take. I have a rounder ski, I turn more, I cover more meters, I work too much on the skis when I go downhill. I have to go more directly to the club, shorten the curve more, because I am giving away distance. When I manage to improve in that section I think I will be with the best.
– Who have been your references in skiing?
– I have not had anyone who has been able to make a way for me. I have been in the Federation for seven years and I have not had anyone to follow in their footsteps. I have always been inspired by Lindsey Vonn or Rafa Nadal, but I have not had a close reference like Álvaro Romero has been able to have with Lucas Eguibar.
– His calendar barely leaves him room to spend time with his people in Donostia.
– We start with the preseason at the end of May, at the Madrid High Performance Center, until the beginning of July. We train from Monday to Thursday and return home from Friday to Sunday. In July we go to Argentina to continue preparing, since it is winter there, and in August I return to coincide with my family’s vacation. Still, I go to the gym every day. In September we return to Argentina. October is a little quieter. This season we went to an indoor track in Germany and in November we went to Sweden, which is where I had back problems. The competition for Europe starts in December. The season usually ends at the beginning of April.
– What is your day to day like when you don’t have competition?
– I train four hours a day skiing in the morning, then I rest a little, in the afternoon I dedicate some time to my Business Administration studies and then I do some gym work. Then we analyze the video with the coach to see where I can improve, I finish preparing the skis, have dinner and finish the day.
