Problems surrounding Olympic qualification: Swiss surfer attacks association

class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>

The dream of the 2024 Olympic Games arose for Miriam “Mimi” Faccenda (29) shortly after she emigrated to Fuerteventura in 2015 to pursue her great passion for surfing. But now the Olympics are taking place without the Uri native. And the worst part of Faccenda’s broken dream: she didn’t even get the chance to qualify.

“We women are of course worth nothing to the association,” she says frustratedly to Blick. We? With Alicia Martinet (25) from Lausanne, the nominally best Swiss woman is also missing in Puerto Rico, where the last Olympic tickets were awarded at the “World Surfing Games”.

Martinet was removed from the surfing team for the 2024 Olympic year, and Faccenda was never even called up. She says: “I feel abandoned. I put a lot of effort into the sport, but I never received any support.”

Surfer lacks ideal support from the association

Faccenda describes how she has fought her way back from a serious elbow injury and a torn cruciate ligament in recent years. She finances her sport herself. A crowdfunding two years ago raised 15,000 francs, and a sponsor doubled the amount to 30,000 francs. But the former NLA footballer keeps returning to Switzerland from her Spanish surf house to earn some extra money as a temporary worker in the catering industry.

Because the surfing events take place worldwide and you always have to plan a stay of two to three weeks due to the weather window, participation costs money. 3,000 to 4,000 francs can quickly be lost for a match.

Faccenda is aware that she cannot expect much financial support from the small Swiss Surfing Association. For her, it’s about moral support. That the association would have helped the few existing female athletes pursue their Olympic dream. Faccenda: “Many small countries from around the world participated in the qualifying event in Puerto Rico.” However, Switzerland only sends Fantin Habashi (20) as starter for the men and no one for the women.

Olympic qualification is hopeless

The association soberly explains the mini team as lacking perspective. “We could also have been there with the women, but that would not have made much sense from a sporting point of view,” says Marco Bruni – the former coach of Olympic snowboard champion Iouri Podladtchikov is the “Head of Athlete Performance” at the surfing association. He describes that with the admission to the Swiss Olympic Games in 2018, there are strict guidelines on the use of funding and a clear performance mandate.

From the association’s perspective, no Swiss woman had the necessary level to come close to the 2024 Olympic competitions taking place in Tahiti – it does not help to promote the Olympic dream on social media.

These are bitter realizations for Faccenda and also for Martinet. Because Bruni describes that the focus for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles is already on the new generation. “We are also looking for athletes with Swiss roots in surfing hotspots like Hawaii,” he says.

At Faccenda the misunderstanding persists. But even without the Olympic Games, she remains true to her passion for the big waves.

Source : Blick