About to turn 21 on the 27th, the São Paulo sailor Nicolas Bernal is one of the youngest in the selection for the Pan American Games in Santiago (Chile) this year. The dispute for vacancies in the 49er and Nacra 17 classes ends this Saturday (11), in Cabo Frio (RJ). The Pan-Pan-American will be played between October 20th and November 5th. Sailing is the modality with the highest number of Olympic gold medals in the country’s history – eight – and brings together icons such as Robert Scheidt, Torben and Lars Grael, Marcelo Ferreira and, in recent years, Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze. The medalists are a reference for Nicolas Bernal, who has already competed in several classes – optmist, laser, 29er – until he migrated to the 49er in 2019, when he won third place in the Copa do Brasil de Vela. In an exclusive interview with Rádio Nacional, the 49er sailor spoke about his trajectory and the exchange of experiences with more advanced athletes, during the tryouts in Cabo Frio (RJ). Rádio Nacional: We had Robert Scheidt, the Grael family, Marcelo Ferreira, we have Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze, and we have Nicolas Bernal, the young name of the 49er class. Nicolas, how are your expectations, being able to play a Pan American, counting on all these experienced people, giving a touch? Nicolas Bernal: Well, then, I started two years in the class, since then, it’s been a long time in the water, trying to develop the necessary experiences to be here. We did a good job this last year and now we are facing tough conditions here, we are a very light team, and we are facing strong winds which is unfavorable for us, but we are doing our best. We are always there in the fight, always looking for one point or another, waiting for the opponents’ mistakes, and it has worked a lot. We’re not being a fast team here, but we’ve been doing good maneuvers, which helps a lot, especially since the boat is very skittish, right? And it’s been great to compete with this high Brazilian level here. Recently, we went to Europe and had a good base there facing good water conditions, strong wind too. So it was good preparation for now here in Cabo Frio. Rádio Nacional: How did you get into sailing? You turned, and I was twenty too. “Oh, I want to be a soccer player, I want to play volleyball. I want to sail.” How did this come about? Bernal: Well, my father is from Santos and he moved to São Paulo. So when I was about five years old, we started going to a lot of clubs in Santos, he already participated in some competitions, but it was something more amateur, in sailing, and then he introduced me to this scenario. Then, we started to do a lot of cruises, like a big boat, but more for pleasure. I ended up liking it a lot, getting really fond of the water, the sea, sailing itself, and then at the age of eight my father sent me to the YCSA sailing school, the Yacht Club Santo Amaro, right there in São Paulo, at the Guarapirana Dam. It was there where it all started. The passion came right away. I always showed a lot of ease, which helped a lot at the beginning. Rádio Nacional: We know when we are new to any place, the older crowd picks on us. And I already saw that there are some nicknames here. Do you have any nicknames? Bernal – Well, my nickname here is Japa, I’m of Japanese descent on my mother’s side and I’m happy with the nicknames, some names, everything. Rádio Nacional: It’s a sign that they like us… Bernal: Yes, exactly, a sign that they value us. Rádio Nacional: And what is the main orientation that the more experienced ones give you while sailing there? Bernal: I think it’s definitely speed. They have experience, they’ve lived a lot, so they know the regulation, what we need for certain conditions, what can happen with the wind. They pass on this experience to us, and as it is a phase that we have just started, this first help helps a lot, it is very important, right? Rádio Nacional: And you as an athlete, sailor, what is the point that you think you need to improve today, in this matter of speed? Bernal: Yes, today we are making a lot of mistakes in terms of speed, this is what is costing us here in our championship, but we were already aware of this deficit, so we have a program to work on it in the coming months. Much of this deficit comes mainly from weight issues, as we are a very light team, so we are now going to take advantage of March, April and May, mainly to gain weight, go to the gym, eat a lot, have a good diet for manage to arrive in the middle of the year with full force in the next championships. * Collaboration of the intern Luiz Eduardo da Silva, under the supervision of Verônica Dalcanal.
Agência Brasil
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