STARS OF THE FUTUREOLYMPIC REVIEW CATCHES UP WITH TWO

ATHLETES WHO HAVE RECEIVED A PREPARATION

GRANT AS PART OF THE CURRENT OLYMPIC

SOLIDARITY PROGRAMME

Pictured

After competing

at the Youth

Olympic Games

in Nanjing,

Guatemalan

pentathlete

Isabel Brand is

now aiming for

Rio 2016

OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY

OLY060_P0058EDeng.indd 58 23/09/2014 12:01

JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2014 ISSUE2

then senior levels. I would love to qualify

for Rio 2016 at the Pan American Games in

Toronto next year. I also want to graduate

from school and go to university.

How did your Olympic Solidarity

Preparation Grant help you prepare for

the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing?

It helped me a lot because I was able to

use the grant to travel to Chengdu (China),

to compete in the senior World Cup. The

Guatemalan team was not taking part in

the event, but with my grant I was able

to go there myself to compete at a senior

level and experience and learn about the

environment in China before going to

Nanjing. I had never been to China before,

but I learned so much at that event and

it gave me the experience I needed to be

well prepared for Nanjing 2014.

What is a typical training week

like for you?

I get up at 4.30am every day and start

swimming at 5am. After that, I go to school

and then I train in the afternoon. Three

times a week I work on fencing, twice

a week it’s shooting and riding. I also

go running four times each week. After

training, I go home, have dinner and do

my homework. Sundays are my rest day!

What do you like to do in your

spare time?

I like to hang out with my family and

friends. I also love to travel and spend time

with horses.

Who are your sporting heroes and why?

My sporting heroes are Olympic champion

Laura Asadauskaite [from Lithuania] and

Yane Marques [from Brazil], who won

bronze at the London 2012 Olympic

Games. I really admire their mental

strength, as well as their amazing and

consistent performances.

Do you use social networks?

Yes, I use social networks. I like to use

Facebook, Twitter and Skype because

they all help me to stay in contact with

my family in Switzerland and friends from

all over the world.

How did you get started in your sport?

I started horse riding when I was seven

years old. My riding coach, Maribel Luna,

was an Olympic pentathlete, so she

introduced me to the sport when I was 12.

At first I was doing both horse riding and

modern pentathlon. I liked the variety of

sports and was really inspired by my coach,

especially because she competed in the

Olympic Games [in Athens in 2004].

What has been your greatest sporting

achievement so far?

I was really proud to win the NORCECA

Youth Championship in Cuba in 2013,

and to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games

at the PANAM Youth Olympic Qualification

event in Acapulco (Mexico). Earlier this year,

I also won a bronze medal [with Sophia

Hernandez] in the women’s relay at the

Youth World Championships in Budapest

and finished in fourth place [alongside

team-mate Charles Fernandez] in the

mixed relay at the Junior World

Championships in Poland.

What did it mean to you to compete

at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing?

My experience in Nanjing was amazing.

Living in the Village was so unique and the

atmosphere everywhere is something I’m

going to really miss. I learned so much by

experiencing a competition like that; it was

incredible. The different activities available

to us were also amazing, and the Opening

and Closing Ceremonies were incredible,

but watching my twin sister, Stefanie,

winning a show jumping bronze medal was

definitely the best moment for me.

What are your targets for the future?

I want to continue training hard, improve

in each event and excel at the junior and

ISABEL BRANDGUATEMALA’S ISABEL BRAND, WHO COMPETED IN MODERN PENTATHLON AT THE NANJING 2014 YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES, REVEALS HOW HER OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY PREPARATION GRANT IS HELPING HER ACHIEVE HER DREAMS

INTERVIEW

OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY

OLYMPIC REVIEW 59

OLY060_P0058EDeng.indd 59 19/09/2014 10:36

JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2014 ISSUE 92

before another two hours of tennis and an

hour of physical training. I do that six days

a week and usually take Sundays off. For

fitness, I do a lot of swimming.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I really like to hang out with my friends

or spend time with my family. They’re all

really proud of what I’ve achieved so far,

but they’re still encouraging me to reach

the top. Without my parents’ and friends’

support, I don’t think it would be

possible for me to do it.

Do you have any sporting heroes?

I’ve always liked Roger Federer – he’s my

idol because he’s good at everything.

He can play every shot, but off the court

he also conducts himself very well. He’ll

be my idol forever, I would say.

Do you use social networks?

I use Facebook. It’s very convenient and

easy for me. It’s always good to keep

connected with your friends and family

when you’re away representing your

country. It really helps a lot.

How did you get started in tennis?

I started when I was about four years

old, mainly because my older brothers

were playing. I saw them and wanted

to try it for myself. After the first few

hits I was in love with the sport. My

brothers are six and seven years older

than me, and we always compete

against each other. It took me a while to

be able to beat them, but since the age

of about 15 I’ve been able to get the

better of them. It’s always good to beat

your brothers!

Apart from beating your brothers

on the court, what has been your

greatest sporting achievement so far?

Playing in the Davis Cup for my country

against the Philippines and Vietnam. That

was a big achievement for me. It was

quite tough to get into the team and the

Davis Cup is always very competitive.

What did it mean to you to compete at the

Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games?

Nanjing was even more than I expected it to

be. Everything was organised so well and it

was so easy for us. The food and transport

were perfect, so all in all it was a wonderful

experience. The highlight was seeing the

friendliness of all the athletes from different

sports and different countries.

Were you proud to represent Sri Lanka

in Nanjing?

It was a big honour for me to represent my

country. Unfortunately I got injured two days

before my match, so I didn’t perform as

well as I was hoping, but that’s something

that wasn’t under my control. It’s been a big

learning process for me.

What are your targets for the future?

I hope to be able to make tennis my career,

reach the top 100 in the world and play in all

the Grand Slam events. That’s my dream.

How has your Olympic Solidarity

Preparation Grant helped you?

It has helped a lot. I was based in Germany

for a year, at the Schüttler Waske Academy;

I was training there and playing in lots of

different conditions. Then I trained in India,

where I was able to get used to the heat to

prepare for Nanjing. I’ve been able to play

in lots of different tournaments. I’ve been

able to see the world and I now know how

hard I have to work in the future. It’s given

me a lot of knowledge about tennis and how

I should approach it. I’ve also made a lot of

friends. It’s been a big boost for my game.

What do you do for training?

For the last six months, I’ve been training

from 7.30am, playing tennis for two hours.

Then I get a two-hour break for lunch

SHARMAL DISSANAYAKERISING SRI LANKAN TENNIS STAR SHARMAL DISSANAYAKE TALKS ABOUT BEATING HIS BROTHERS

ON THE COURT AND REPRESENTING HIS COUNTRY IN THE DAVIS CUP

INTERVIEW

Left and

below

Aged just

18, Sharmal

Dissanayake

has already

represented

Sri Lanka in

the Davis Cup

60 OLYMPIC REVIEW

OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY

OLY060_P0058EDeng.indd 60 19/09/2014 10:36

JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2014 ISSUE 92