To be the first tri-colored surfer to qualify for the Olympic Games is the dream that Dominic Barona wants to fulfill.
She has a rigorous training scheduled for the upcoming months to go to the ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador, a stop on her way to Tokyo 2020.
Mimi (28 years old), born in Montañita, spoke with this newspaper about her beginnings, the obstacles to the practice of her sport, and how she sees it in the future.
How do you finance your practice of this sport?
It is very difficult in surfing to have financial support because there aren't many private companies that invest in national athletes, especially in this sport. Since I started surfing at 6 years old, I had the illusion that I would have the support from any sector. Now, because of the results, the Secretary of Sports supports us – for the two world sub-championships, for the silver medal at the Pan American Games, and for my career. In addition, I have the support of Ecuasal for years, CE Surfer and Don Café at the national level, and this year I am supported by the Corona brand.
Have you ever been disappointed by the lack of help?
I have had to fight my whole career and it is still difficult; it is not easy. Thanks to God, I went through all that to learn to value everything and I had the guts to achieve it. That also motivated me, as well as my family, to organize competitions for the children and maybe in the future we will have a world champion.
My dad was my guide. In Montañita, he was a diver and a lifeguard and he taught us respect and love for the sea, and introduced us to the practice of surfing. Mimi Barona, Ecuadorian surfer
What has your Federation done for you?
In the Ecuadorian Surf Federation, for ten years, there were leaders who did nothing. In recent times, others arrived and they cared about funding. They submitted my results to the Ministry of Sports (now the Secretariat) and this entity reviewed and approved support for me when they saw that I had won a sub-championship in Peru. We only had financial support in 2014 and then it was taken away because surfing was not an Olympic sport, but they gave it back to me in 2016 when surfing was approved for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In 2017, I entered the High Performance plan and I am still there because of the silver medal (Pan American Games 2019).
She has not qualified for Tokyo yet. What opportunity does she have?
We have the ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador in May (from 9th to 17th), and that is where we will have the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics. I understand that there are seven spots available for women and five for men. Ecuador has a team of three women and the same number of men; I hope the whole team can travel because in recent years it has not been possible due to lack of money.
What will be your work plan for the competition in Central America?
I have trained hard in the last few weeks in Montañita. In the next fifteen days, I will travel to Australia, where I will participate in three tournaments; then I will go to Puerto Rico (March 13th to 15th) and from there to Barbados (March 17th to 21st). I do this to have more international experiences. Then I will return here at the end of March to do a training base and then go to El Salvador to continue my work for a month and be ready for the World Championship.
Is there a future here for the development of surfing?
Now everything is going in the right direction, everything is more accessible. When I started, getting a surfboard was super difficult because you couldn't gather the $400 or $500 it cost just for the board. But the situation is changing because of the help received from the private sector. We are blessed here because we have an amazing coast and we are fortunate to have warm water and good waves on our beaches. In summary, the field is ready, we just need more support for the talent that exists now.