Paula Barceló and Nacho Baltasar are already in Marseille

Paula Barceló from Club Nàutic S'Arenal and Nacho Baltasar from Club Nàutic Sa Ràpita are part of the squad of 13 national athletes who will be sailing in the waters of Marseille starting Sunday, July 28, aiming for Olympic medals.

With the arrival of the last athletes in Marseille, the Olympic sailing team is now complete and ready to give their all in Marseille's waters. The thirteen athletes posed for the official photo, marking a significant milestone in the Paris 2024 calendar.

Led by Olympic flag bearer Támara Echegoyen, the Mallorcan sailor Paula Barceló (CN el Arenal), Diego Botín, Florian Trittel, Pilar Lamadrid, Mallorcan sailor Nacho Baltasar (CN Sa Ràpita), Tara Pacheco, Andrés Barrio, Ana Moncada, Joaquín Blanco, Jordi Xammar, Nora Brugman, and Gisela Pulido experienced one of the most special moments of the Olympic cycle, just before the start of the races.

Proud to represent Spain in the Olympic Games, these thirteen athletes also bring the colors of six autonomous communities to Paris 2024: Andalusia: Pilar Lamadrid and Ana Moncada; Balearic Islands: Paula Barceló and Nacho Baltasar; Canary Islands: Tara Pacheco, Andrés Barrio, and Joaquín Blanco; Cantabria: Diego Botín; Catalonia: Jordi Xammar, Nora Brugman, Gisela Pulido, and Florian Trittel; Galicia: Támara Echegoyen.

The athletes are accompanied by the technical team that has followed their every move during these three years of preparation. With Xisco Gil as the director of Olympic preparation, the class coaches are: Álvaro del Arco and Hamish Wilcox, 49er; Pablo García, Nacra 17; Jano Toro, ILCA 6; Gustavo Lima, ILCA 7; Juan de la Fuente, 470; José Luís Costa and Federico Alonso, 49er FX; Mateo Sanz, women’s iQFOiL; Marcos Fernández, men’s iQFOiL; and Antonio Mínguez, women’s Formula Kite.

Also present is a multidisciplinary team from the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation that has been accompanying them from the start of the campaign, training them in all aspects necessary for their integral development as athletes: Daniel Brotons, doctor; Carles Tur, health coordinator and physical trainer; Meritxell Bellatriu, psychologist; Pilar Clapers, Claudia Juan, and Lucía Ruiz-Cotorro, physiotherapists; Marc Combalia, data analysis and AI expert; Diego Yubero, rules advisor; and Riccardo Ravagnan, meteorologist.

Described as a strong team by Xisco Gil, perfectly prepared to face the Olympic competition, the parade along the Seine with Támara Echegoyen and part of the Spanish delegation will be the prelude to the start of the action next Sunday, the 28th, with the first races for iQFOiL, 49er, and 49er FX. ILCA 7 and 6 will begin their program on Thursday, August 1, and the 470 on Sunday, August 2. In the second week, the Nacra 17 will start on Monday, August 3, and the Formula Kite will be the last to begin their competition on Tuesday, August 4.