"If I'm not swimming, I'm eating"

The Rock of Vallés"My sport is invisible and we put on a lot of show," says Sara Saldaña after being presented as one of the protagonists in the campaign Your style, your game. The presentation at Roca Village celebrates talent and creativity in fashion, sport and art. "I have always loved the world of creativity and editing," says the artistic swimmer at the ARA. During her childhood, she was passionate about audiovisuals. The appreciation for images and videos has become a characteristic trait that has been preserved in the artist's personality over the years. Since she was little, and with the help of her mother, she has sought a discipline in which she could show her most artistic and aesthetic side. "If I'm not swimming, I'm eating," she says enthusiastically. Now her premise is clear: to show the world who she is through content on the Internet.

"I would like to be recognised and for people to see my culinary recommendations." Sara's smile describes the excitement that would be caused by her followers, motivated by the criteria of a culinary fan and elite athlete, moving to restaurants recommended by her. This is her great challenge, but if she misses it, she will boast of the successes achieved. Artistic swimming is a sport with little media coverage and being a professional in this discipline does not provide enough income to live on. "Synchronised swimming requires many sacrifices and losing a social life." She trains eight hours a day, uploads and edits content on the platforms and reserves some of her time to meet up with her partner. "My free time is meeting up with friends to go out to eat." The commitment and appreciation for her discipline is such that she is indifferent to the effort expended. "Three minutes of Olympics require four years of dedication." However, the artistic swimming fan only watches three minutes of choreography.

Sara Saldaña, along with eight other sports talents such as Aina Florenza and Berta Abellán, has participated in the fashion event at Roca Village, in which "young heroes from various sports disciplines" have been made visible. The objective of the event was to "define fashion as a tool to transmit strength and empowerment" in minority sports.

Nine years in Catalonia with a fork and knife

Born in Leganés, Sara came to Catalonia at the age of fifteen to live in the High Performance Centre of Sant Cugat del Vallès. In the first few years she enjoyed freedom without her parents, but as time went by she only found moral support in her fellow athletes. Today, she is 24 years old and has already won three medals at the European Games in 2015 and 2023. "We spend many hours swimming and if you are not 100%, you are replaced." Professionals in the water are under high pressure to perform excellently every day of the year. In a group of twelve professionals, only eight swim and when one is injured, another artist enters the rotation. Despite the high demands of the discipline, Sara smiles because she likes to pamper her palate with exquisite food and express herself in the water. "I am a foodie "I can show something that others can't," explains Saldaña, referring to her recognition as an Olympic athlete.

Sara is passionate about the gastronomy of Catalonia. "I like Catalan-style spinach, calçots or cannelloni." The aquatic artist at Can In Sant Cugat, it is not well seen to film with the mobile phone in the restaurant and I try to move around Barcelona," says the medalist while explaining that she prioritizes moving around the Vallès and showing lesser-known restaurants in the area. According to the artistic swimmer, a person's eating habits are important. "I follow a diet to enjoy," she explains, drawing a line. She distances herself from junk food, which makes her feel heavy when she submerges herself in the water. "I eat because I'm an elite athlete, except at Christmas," she says with a laugh.

"I feel worse out of the water than in it," she says matter-of-factly. Gravity takes its toll on artistic swimmers. She lives for the water and misses it when she spends time on her feet. Saldaña considers the world gold medal she won in 2023 (Fukuoka, Japan) to be her greatest sporting success: "I get goosebumps remembering how we were number one after finishing sixth in the semi-finals." With the European and world gold under her belt, she now yearns for Olympic gold. In Paris 2024 she was a reserve for the Spanish team.