Ona Rodriguez

GIVE IT MY BEST

Since she was little, Ona has always been a very active and energetic child. She loved always having something to do, whether it was playing, running or trying new activities. At the same time, she has always been very close to her family, caring and sociable. She loved spending time with her family and playing with her friends.

“I started skating when I was seven years old because my parents wanted me to do a sport. At the time, my mum had joined a skating club that organized skating routes around the city at night. She asked me to come and try it with her, so I went along, even though at first I didn’t really want to because I was very shy. But in the end, I absolutely loved it. That was how I started with inline skating. A few years later, I was given the opportunity to try speed skating on ice and to move to a high-performance sports centre where I could train, study and live there. At that time, speed skating was not yet something very serious for me. It was only about two years ago that I started living in Inzell to focus more seriously on speed skating.”

“What I like most about skating is the feeling of speed and being able to put all my strength and energy into something I really love. When I skate, my mind clears and I can forget about everything else around me. I also really love the feeling I have after training, knowing that I have given everything I had.”

Ona started by training on a short track at Camp Nou, with the Catalan team. At first, she only trained there for a few days at a time. Later, the Spanish team started taking Ona to training camps for a few weeks each year, but that was not enough to be able to compete at the level she wanted. “Little by little, we started going to Inzell more often so that I could train on the ice more regularly, around two weeks every month. Then, two years ago, I had the opportunity to move to Inzell for two full ice seasons, which allowed me to train and focus much more seriously on speed skating. This year, I decided to take the next step in my development by joining TalentNED, so I will be living and training in Enschede this season.”

“I think one of my biggest strengths as a skater is that I always want to push myself further to achieve my goals. I also have the ability to never give up, no matter how difficult things get, because I always have a clear goal in my mind. Physically, I would say I am quite explosive, although I still have many things to improve, both technically and physically. I want to give my best and do everything I can to make my dreams come true.

My technique needs to be improved a lot so that I can use all my strength more effectively on the ice. Physically, I also need to improve my endurance and my ability to maintain my speed and strength until the end of the race.”

Ona’s dream is to become one of the best speed skaters in the world and to compete at the highest level of the sport. But above all, she wants to become the best version of herself and give everything she has, and fight for it every day, to achieve her goals. “As this will be my final junior season, my main goal is to be fighting for the top positions at the Junior World Championships and to continue improving my personal bests. Also I want to focus a lot on improving my technique, because I believe this will help me a lot in achieving my goals and becoming a better skater.”

“I chose TalentNED because I feel that it offers the perfect conditions for what I need at this stage of my development. Also I really like the group and the environment here. I feel that being surrounded by people who are all working towards their goals and trying to improve together will help me grow, both personally and as an athlete.

As a foreign skater I think I can bring a new culture and a different way of making things to the Academy. I also really like helping the people around me, supporting them and working together towards our goals. I hope I can contribute to the group with my energy, my way of working and my willingness to help others, so that we can all improve and achieve our dreams together.