When the Coronavirus started, not many people were aware of the consequences this virus would bring. For professional windsurfers, it started with world cups and other events being canceled, to beaches being closed so training can not be done anymore. And just in the last couple of days, everything except supermarkets is closed. The situation is serious and everyone needs to do their best to avoid spreading the virus. We took a quick word with our team rider Matteo Iachino to see how he deals with the current world situation as an athlete.
You are currently training slalom and foiling in Tenerife. In many countries, also your home country Italy, the situation is very serious. How does the Corona situation affect your world tour preparations and your daily life on Tenerife?
Hello everybody! Luckily until now, I had normal winter training and preparation. But from now on, the canaries will take the same measure as the rest of Europe. Everything will be closed and only markets and stuff like that will be open. In Italy, the situation is pretty serious but we are getting better with everybody in quarantine. The situation will get better soon, I’m pretty optimistic.
The world cups in Japan and Korea are canceled and France is postponed. How do you deal with that for your training plans?
Well, I guess it’s not the best moment but I guess we can’t complain if we compare our situation with what people around the world are facing at the moment. Let’s hope for the best, for us and for all the people now living a really hard moment.
Hopefully, the situation will get better and people will be safe and the normal world can continue. When you are back on the racecourse for the 2020 world tour, what is your goal?
My goal, as usual, is to give my best on the racecourse, no matter what. If you work the hardest you can and perform at your best when competing, you’ll probably succeed. I want to win but let’s go step by step and see where the future will bring us.
Are you ready for the new slalom foil format? For people who don’t know, can you explain the new format?
We integrated the foil and the fin under one discipline. Slalom is slalom, same start, same course, same finish line, same format. The only difference is that you can choose to either race on the fin or the foil. What’s the best choice when you start competing is just up to you. I like the new format and I think I’m ready for it. It’s gonna be exciting and interesting and in the end, slalom is slalom, you just have to arrive first on the finish line, no matter what.
Which boards will be your weapon of choice for the upcoming season and which foil will you be using?
I’ll use Starboard foils. For the boards, we now have 4 boards to register. I’ll register the slalom Foil 91, iSonic 85, 72 and 63.
