"Falling is part of my normality. Normalize competing with pain."

BarcelonaThe Barcelona Forum area is full of young people on wheels. Some are riding bicycles, others are using scooters, and Valentina is using hers. skateboardingShe seems like just another young woman spending time outdoors, but while she jokes with her sister, she's already thinking about the weekend. "Last year I won here. I'll have to do it again," she says with a half-shy laugh, looking at the jumping arenas. Valentina Krauel is one of the best. skaters Catalan. At 16, she's already among the top 30 in the world, and this weekend she shined despite not repeating her triumph at home, at Extreme Barcelona, ​​​​the third-longest-running urban sports event in the world. She finished second.

Barcelona is one of the most famous cities for doing skateboardingThe image of the skateboards in front of the MACBA is already iconic. Valentina has been there, in front of the museum. Many times to film commercials, because at 16 she already has her fans. "We have good facilities. But many people here still don't see us as a sport. It's hard for them. But more and more people are discovering us and seeing how much fun it is. At the Paris Games, it was the most-watched sport, the one where the most people attended," she says. It's impossible for her not to think about the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. "Yes, it would be nice to go. I'm currently ranked 29th in the world and I'm competing in three competitions a year. You have to add points to the rankings," she assures. But she's aware that there's still a certain generational divide. There are people of other ages who still don't know what the future holds for someone who can make a good living skating. Or that Valentina is on a scholarship and aspires to be an Olympian in 2028. "Surely many people still don't understand. They see it as if it were a game. But it takes a lot of work and persistence to do it well. And you have to fall many times," defends theskaterA lesson for sports, and perhaps for life? And Valentina thinks about it. "Yes, that's true. I think it depends on your attitude in life. I believe that to do things well, you have to fall and get back up. In the end, you normalize competing with pain in your body," she adds.

"I was a lively girl. And my parents signed me up one summer at a camp to do skateboarding and surfing. And that's how it started, because I liked it. When I was seven years old I started doing skateboarding, I liked it more than surfing. And surfing is good. In fact, it's easier. If you fall you don't get hurt. In theskateboard, it's hard to get started. Until you have a certain level of control and can start doing cool things, it can take a long time. And you fall. And you hurt yourself," she explains. Her father, who accompanies her, nods in agreement. At home, they had a hard time accepting that their daughter would come back with a ton of bruises on her legs and that she would break things. "Just in the last few months, she's twisted and hurt herself in a ton of places," explains the father. "It's part of my normality, falling," says Valentina. In fact, skaters They learn to fall, to minimize their damage. "My family supports me; it's fantastic," says Valentina, who often has the support of her grandmother, Esther Giménez-Salinas, the Catalan ombudsman, in the stands. "She likes what I do, but she suffers when I fall," admits the clean-up girl.

Competing on different continents

At 12 years old, Valentina started competing. It was a key moment, because until then it had been a way of feeling good. "I didn't have a reference, I didn't know if I was very good or not. And when I started competing, I saw that I was at a good level. I was on the podium. Until then, it was fun; it was like going to play soccer on the beach, you know? But I discovered that I could compete. And the truth is, I liked it," she explains. And her eyes sparkle. In just two years, she was already participating in international competitions.skateboarding It's normal to see 12- or 13-year-old girls competing. "It's lucky. I have friends all over the world. I have Australian, Japanese, friends from all over the world. I get to know other places. I especially liked going to the United States because everything is very well-prepared there. Our sport is very well-maintained there, it's popular," she explains. "We're doing well here, but better there," she adds. In recent months, she's won and made the podium in international competitions.

To be an Olympian in the future, she expands her training days. "I train at the Sant Cugat High Performance Center. I go to school in the morning, then three days a week to the gym and train in the afternoon. Other days I do double sessions, morning and afternoon," says Valentina. At the Sant Cugat CAR, she occasionally works with a psychologist, as you have to be strong enough not to be afraid of obstacles when recovering from an injury. "It's a sport in which you have to be focused; your head is very important. In competitions, you have to nail the jumps. There are few opportunities, and you can't make mistakes. If I miss, I get hit and my body hurts, not like soccer players," he says naturally. And he bids farewell to the interview on wheels to continue training at the Forum. An area that, from September 5 to 7, will be the epicenter of urban sports, with more than 500 athletes at events such as theskateboard, BMX bike, 3x3 basketball, trampoline, breakdancing and a debuting discipline, thesnakeboard.