Nacho Baltasar will compete at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024

At 19 years old, the sailor from Club Nàutic Sa Ràpita has been selected by the Olympic Preparation Committee of the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation to represent Spain at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 in the men's IQ Foil category.

The sailor of the Club Nàutic Sa Ràpita Nacho Baltasar has been selected by the Olympic Preparation Committee of the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation to represent Spain at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 in the men's IQ Foil class. As reported by the RFEV Committee after the end of the World Class Championship, Baltasar has obtained one of the seven Olympic places that correspond to Spain to date in the different sailing disciplines. There will be Spanish representatives in the classes: 470 Mixed, Nacra 17 Mixed, ILCA 7, IQ Foil Men, IQ Foil Women, 49er and 49er FX.

Thus, at 19 years old, the CNR sailor is part of the select group of athletes who will have the honor of representing Spain in the 2024 Olympic Games.

The RFEV emphasizes that "this sailor is proposed for his great evolution during the year 2023, managing to classify the country in the World Championship but also finishing 5th in the test event, being the next Spanish sailor much further behind in the various competitions held this year (during the World Championship they did not enter in the Gold group), is a sailor with a lot of youth and with a lot of projection of improvement to be able to face the Olympic Games in 2024 with the possibility of medal, seeing the partial of the World Championship and the test event". 

Recently, the CNR held a reception to pay tribute to Baltasar after he recently won a place for Spain at the Olympic Games in the IQ Foil class. The sailor was received by a crowd of people, including family, authorities, representatives of the Balearic Sailing Federation, friends, members of the board of the club, members of the racing team, journalists and onlookers who were crowded to hear the words of thanks that the sailor himself gave to the attendees.

By becoming the first CNR sailor to be selected to compete in an Olympic Games, Nacho Baltasar adds a new milestone to his rich list of achievements, which includes the titles of IQ Foil U-19 Spanish Cup champion, IQ Foil U-19 Spanish champion and RS:X world champion. Previously, he had already obtained resounding triumphs in other classes, such as being proclaimed absolute winner and gold in Optimist at the 54th Great Sailing Day held at the CNA, in 2017.

"The CNR has educated me since I was 5 years old. Here I have forged the best friendships by dint of storms, hard days and strong waves. My whole family is part of the small town of Sa Rapita, (Campos)," said Baltasar, who wanted to give special thanks to his coach, Marcos Fernandez. "We have lived together a lot in recent months and is the person who has known me more deeply in less time. Not only has he been with me decisively supporting me in the water, but he has also learned to know and manage my emotions to the millimeter, and that is what makes the difference in the end", he assures. At this point, he also wanted to highlight the work of his sports psychologist, José Antonio Montero. "Thanks to him, I have been able to be psychologically at 100% in each regatta, which has allowed me to maintain the level throughout the days," he says. On the other hand, he has thanked the RFEV and has stressed the work of "all the people behind me and each regatta: physiotherapists, committees, trainers, .... Everyone has worked very hard to get here," he reiterated. "Since I got the news I have felt all kinds of emotions. I've been on vacation for three weeks and I never thought I'd get to say this, but it's been a long time coming. I can't wait to get back on a board, generate that adrenaline, train hard and give it my all," he concludes.