“ sirena ”in the Baraguá Pool Complex or another pool.
He considers that his parents, both linked to the world of sports, and his brothers, are his main engine when it comes to taking each stroke. With them in his thoughts he gains strength, kicks and arms, turns around and touches, taking his spindly anatomy out of the water and analyzing, together with his coach María Luisa Mojarrieta, times and aspects to be polished both in the immediate and in the medium. long term.
But we are certainly talking about an immediate commitment for the Havana undina, since the imminence of the I Junior Pan American Games in Cali, and her status as leader of our large squad, make her the focus of attention, not only for having managed to qualify with Mark A for the appointment thanks to his 1: 04.28 minutes, performed in Hungary 2019 in the 100 meters backstroke, which also become his personal mark, but because in addition to that distance he will swim other three styles, always trying to pull the rest of the squad.
About that and other details, the tall swimmer spoke with Cuba Yes:
Being in the preselection for the Tokyo Olympics made your preparation a bit more complete for Cali. How do you evaluate it?
“I was training for Tokyo from January to June. I had to enter the Mare Nostrum circuit, and there to look for my Olympic qualification marks, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic we were unable to go, and neither were other countries. Then they suspended the Youth World Cup in Kazan, Russia so I could not look for qualifying times to Tokyo in official competitions.
That training period, also under a bubble format, was very good, somewhat monotonous, but it made the few of us who faced it very focused.
Now this second stage has been more intense and accelerated, but I have felt very good, which makes me think that I am ready to take on the challenge of the I Junior Pan American Games in Cali ”.
Of the four distances that you will swim in Colombia, which ones are you best at in terms of security and registrations?
“The two back modalities. They are where I have the most confidence in myself. I also like the combination. Except for the chest, which is the one that I have a little behind, I am good at the other styles, and the free one is like the base of every swimmer. I like it and I have also been perfecting it ”.
It should be noted that Andrea has top times of 2: 18.78 in the 200 backstroke; in the 200 free 2: 06.65 materialized in the Pan American Games in Lima 2019; and in the 200 combined 2: 25.12 achieved in December of the same year.
What have you been up to in the last few weeks of prep for competitive weekend modeling?
“Last week we lowered our loads, since there are approximately 15 days to go to Colombia.
We closed that mesocycle with a similar modeling and I dropped hundredths of my personal best in the 200 free, without opposition from rivals and without pressure. There in Cali, with the opposites, the tension of the public and others, I think good times can come out. I hope not only in that distance ”.
I know that they have competed very little during the entire cycle as a result of the effects on behalf of the Covid, but your preparation was a little more in-depth and extensive. How do you assume that leadership within a young and inexperienced team?
“It is a very great motivation. Since she was little, she dreamed of being big and being part of a national team. If I add being the leader it fills me with energy, in addition to being able to guide my teammates for whom this constitutes their first strong international competition.
I am committed to them, to help them adapt to a rigorous competitive scenario, but at the same time beautiful. At first we thought that only Daysi Ramírez (100 meters chest fundamentally) and I would go, that we are the ones with brand A, but little by little more places and wild cards appeared one by one until we formed a team.
Now we are ten, a practically complete team and we are all happy to be able to attend, and hoping to play a good role ”.
Any kind of physical problem or injury during this training stage?
“The adaptation to the combined, after so long without swimming it regularly, kept me focused on my free and back, when I started it produced a slight discomfort in my knee due to the kick of the chest style, which is very different, but it was a product of that inactivity. As I have been increasing the frequency of swimming in that style it has been disappearing. It was also light, nothing serious.
Besides that it was not visible in the other styles, something positive ”.
Outside of swimming, what does a young woman so dedicated to training like, who has been in the pools since the age of six?
“I am a calm person, from home and with my cell phone. I define myself as a calm girl. With Elisbet Gámez in our spare time here we make Tik-Tok videos and that entertains us, relaxes us. It is something that, in our free time, when we do not have that concern or priority for swimming is a kind of hobby.
In addition, I have been teaching quite well, as I am finishing the 11th grade of pre-university. In the mornings I go to school and training in the afternoon, in normal times.
Andrea has talent, something undeniable, because at the age of 15, at the 2019 Swimming World Cup in Budapest, Hungary, she took the national record of Tania Coffiny in the 50 meters backstroke up to 30.26 seconds. Before, in 2018 and with only 14 he had broken it for the first time stamping 30.44. Unfortunately, this segment will not swim in the coffee pools. But let’s trust that Andrea, who also after Cali will participate in the World Swimming Pool in a short course pool (25 meters) from December 13 to 18 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, together with Elisbet, Luis Vega, and Adrián Navarro .
Her dream, to venture into all the events of this cycle, improve her personal marks in them, and continue to grow until she becomes one of the best Cuban swimmers of all time.
