“I want sports to be inclusive from their foundations”
«Sailing through world-wide competitions with her regatta, Cecilia Carraza Saroli became an Olympic champion alongside Santiago Lange in the Rio 2016 Olympics. An advocate for the LGBTQI+ cause, she took on a new challenge in 2022 by hosting the cycle “Identidades TNT Sports,” a series of eight interviews to different prominent athletes with the aim to make visible and normalize diversity. A track record that makes her a role model in the struggle towards inclusion in sports.«
You were one of the flag bearers representing Argentina at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. I imagine that was a source of great pride for you, and a big responsibility. Do you think nowadays you are the flag bearer for the LGBTQI+ community as well? How do you feel about it?
Of course I am a flag bearer for the community! And as soon as I realized I could make a contribution to the cause from my position, I was able to wear the rainbow flag. I’ve been a flag bearer ever since I first represented Argentina. It’s clear that being a flag bearer in the Olympics is the greatest form of representation, something that is very difficult to put into words. And in my particular story, it was a moment unlike any other. When I received the call, I couldn’t stop crying, and that made me question myself on a deeper level. From then on I understood a big part of my history: throughout my life, everything I’d heard about homosexuality had made me feel undeserving, wrong, like I was going through an evil path. But when the Olympic Committee names you the flag bearer representing your country, it gives you courage. Beyond any achievement in sports, it allows you to stand proudly before the world of sports. Before the whole world. So it was very special to me, and it made me keep digging into everything I’d discovered about myself, about me as the bearer of a collective flag.
You were the first woman to win the gold medal in sailing. When did you get to feel a winner in terms of your sexual orientation?
It mostly started in the year 2018, because of a video I made for It gets better, an initiative from the USA for which I was asked to record a video welcoming the project to our country after it opened an affiliate in Argentina. But instead of recording a welcome video, I felt the need to tell my story, what I felt, what had happened to me. I was very shy when I recorded it, but then I thought that if I couldn’t do it, lots of people wouldn’t either, or would find it even harder. And I was in a position that allowed me to make a change, to do something.
Do you feel you’ve pushed your boundaries?
In order to be the best in the world at something, which is what I pursue in sailing, you need a high level of self-confidence, self-esteem, and at times a big ego. You need to work, but at some point, you need to believe you can be the best in the world. And if you don’t feel deserving, even in an aspect of your life that has nothing to do with sports, you’ll lack an extra something to be able to grow.
“We come from a homophobic society and we need to keep deconstructing that, every day and each one of us.”
How did the sports world treat you after you came out of the closet?
It was actually pretty gradual. Since I was seventeen years old, people around me have started finding out about it, mostly through gossip, which made me feel uncomfortable. I only mentioned it to the people I felt I could trust. After the release of that video in 2018, many people expressed their support. Nobody really knows how much you suffer when you can’t be yourself. Most people in our collective aren’t aware that they’re living a double life until some time goes by and they can put it into words, when they start connecting with other people from the LGBTQI+ community. When you talk about it, you realize you’re leading a double life too, you too have to hide to be with your girlfriend or your boyfriend. That demands a lot of energy, energy you could be putting into your career.
Did this double life affect your performance?
If there’s one thing I can be certain about, it’s that you have to feel good about yourself in order to have a good performance in an activity you pour your life and soul into. The better you feel, the better you’ll perform. Nowadays I’m grateful about my life story. It’s probably what makes me commit to this cause, so that I can pave the way for other people, or help them feel deserving simply because they exist. It doesn’t matter who you fucked last night… or today… or tomorrow (laughs)..
Since you mentioned tomorrow… If you were elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), would you reform the institution to make it more inclusive?
Today the IOC is already thinking about diversity, equality and opportunities. They’ve taken measures so that more women can be a part of the sports world and sports leadership. That is very important. In fact, in the last Olympics in Tokyo, New Zealand transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard participated. The topic is on the table; to me that is a great step forward. There are a lot of things we’ll have to learn, discuss, and debate, because all in all, the Olympics are set within a framework of rules. It’s a competition, but it only comprehends a small percentage of society. If tomorrow I have a transgender nephew, I’d like for him to have room to play. If he’s gay, I’d like for him not to be called “fag” or “poof” when he practices a sport. I’d like to see more athletes like Mia Fedra, who at forty keeps competing in tennis. That’s what we have to aim for. First, we have to get together and practice in the park, because sports are part of a social construct. I hope everyone can practice!
“I’m one of those people who always wants to move forward, overcome obstacles.”
Looking back and seeing everything you’ve achieved, what are your dreams for the future?
Professionally, I’d like to find a way to help athletes who, even though professional in terms of their career, are still amateur in financial terms. I’m a professional, I devote my life to sports. But I don’t make a big income from my sport. It’s necessary to help tomorrow’s athletes to be able to devote all of their time to sports, and I hope to contribute in that front. I’d also like to be a mother. I’m already 35 and my dream to be a young mother has sailed (risas). What I’d like the most is to have a nice family to share my sports with.
What they say about her…
“I admire her so much. I see her as such a complete, confident person, and such a proud activist. She became a role model in so little time. She has this energy, this push, and that’s why she became an olympic champion.”
Facundo Imhoff
Her numbers:
- 3 The number of medals she’s won: 1 world bronze and 1 silver, and 1 olympic gold.
- 1987 The year she first walked on deck, a few months after she was born.
- 16 The number of her boat in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics.
- 35 Her age.
- 10 Her favorite number, though she doesn’t believe in luck.
His track record:
- Subcampeona mundial en 2014
- Campeona panamericana en 2011
- Varias veces campeona sudamericana
- Tres veces campeona de los Juegos ODESUR y varias veces campeona argentina.
- Integró el equipo olímpico argentino de vela en los Juegos Olímpicos de Beijing 2008, Londres 2012, Río de Janeiro 2016 y Tokio 2020.
