By Alexander Smith
MARSAILLES, France (Reuters) – Deizy Nhaquile was nine when she first stepped into a dinghy in Mozambique, but she and her mother feared for the sport’s safety and decided to quit.
“My dad said no, I have to go sailing because it can change my life. “Maybe I can go to school and change my life, because we’re not rich,” he said.
“He said, ‘you go sailing or you get out of my house,'” he told Reuters.
Nhaquile, who turns 24 this week, decided to pursue sailing and her talent on the water in the children’s Optimist class was soon recognized by her club in the Mozambican capital Maputo.
She is now set to compete in the women’s single-handed sculls event at her second Olympics after securing her berth through World Sailing’s Emerging Nations Programme.
She became the first Mozambican athlete to qualify her country for sailing at the Games when she raced in Tokyo, since she has also completed a degree in sports management.
Nhaquile said her dream is to win, but securing the necessary funding is a constant battle.
“I have to work hard and we need sponsors to win.”
Much of her success, she says, is down to her South African coach, Rob Holden, whose belief in her talent and unwavering support has been a driving force, along with her parents and her sailing club.
“To get a medal at the Olympics, you have to go and spend a lot of money, go to a lot of championships, so it’s very expensive,” Nhaquile said, adding that sometimes she didn’t have money to pay Holden and he has paid for some of her expenses.
But when he sails, some of those worries evaporate.
“It’s like a different connection, like you and the water, it’s really amazing, you forget all your problems,” he said when asked what it’s like to travel on the ILCA 6 boat.
As one of the few black athletes competing in sailing at the 2024 Games, Nhaquile wants others to follow her lead.
Competing in Marseille she says she will represent not only Mozambique, “but Africa and all black women”.
“We can come to the Olympics, just believe in … (you) and work hard,” he said.
(Reporting by Alexander Smith; Editing by Ken Ferris)
