Andrea Aldana
Six years ago, Andrea Aldana was reading the newspaper in Guatemala, when she saw a Laser Radial international competitor in the news section. She liked what she saw and when she turned the page to see an advertisement for a sailing camp in her Central American homeland, she jumped straight into sailing a Radial. She is now the National Female Champion for the laser radial class in Guatemala, and in 2009 she won the Sunfish World Championships.
From a background of surfing and other water sports, she says that this has helped her acclimatise to the conditions that are so important to sailing, and gain a better understanding and appreciation for the water when racing.
Training for Andrea in Guatemala is remarkably different to Western Australia, where there are consistent winds and favourable conditions. In Guatemala, Aldana trains on a lake located 30 minutes from her home, where there are no waves and the floatation of the boats is different due to the freshwater.
Aldana’s ambition is to be the first Guatemalan woman to qualify for the Olympic Games in sailing. She says she is thrilled to be involved in the ENP and have the coaching of Belinda Stowell and Arthur Brett, who have taught her a lot in terms of training hard, fitness requirements, adapting to the conditions and the rules of sailing.
- Name: Andrea Aldana
- Nation: Guatemala
- Discipline: Women's One Person Dinghy