Natalia Gallego he has learned to move in very different terrains without losing the same common thread, that of passion. Skater, athlete, geologist, researcher, president of the Andorra Motorcycle Federation and mother, her trajectory is that of someone who has been taking on challenges without always looking for the spotlight, but with the constant will to add. A out of playthe DiariTV program, reviews a path made of perseverance, curiosity and responsibilities that have forced him to grow both professionally and personally.
Born in Valladolid but installed in Andorra from a very young age, Galician she defines herself as Andorran “by blood, feeling and everything”. He remembers a shy but restless childhood, always eager to do things. First was the figure skatingwhere he learned that to achieve an axel – the most emblematic and technical jump – you had to fall many times. Then came theathletics almost by chance, when a coach saw her running and suggested she try it. There he discovered a sport that it marked her deeply. “It’s you against yourself”, he explains, summarizing a discipline without excuses, where only the body, the head and the stopwatch count. That stage gave him Andorran records, international competitions and memories which he still keeps with emotion, like the Osaka World Cupwhere he lived with some of the best athletes in the world. But at the same time, another vocation also grew: the scientific one. Fascinated from an early age by volcanoes and natural phenomena, she studied geology and ended up specializing in natural hazards. He has been working for a handful of years Andorra Research and Innovationfrom where it helps to better understand avalanches, earthquakes or landslides. “Andorra it’s a laboratory of natural risks,” he says, aware that living in a mountainous country also requires knowing its risks. Motorcycling entered through another door. His father was already linked to the federation and suggested he assume a role related to the environment It was not an easy position, as she was a young woman talking about sustainability within a sport associated with gasoline and engines. “It cost a little in the first years”, he admits. Over time, however, that bet consolidated until it became an essential part of the competitions. Her organizational capacity pushed her to take on more and more responsibilities, until reaching the presidency.
A la carte
Her curiosity and passion for volcanoes led her to study geology
A counting exam
Galician he recognizes that it was not a sought after goal, but a natural consequence of the accumulated involvement. Among the moments he remembers with the most pride is the organization a Andorra of the general assembly of the International Motorcycling Federation and the world awards gala. “It was one of the biggest challenges I’ve had”, he says. That stage also transformed her. “The Natalia between before she was president and the one now have changed a lot”, she admits. She learned to manage conflicts, criticism and teams, but also to live with the fact of having to demonstrate more than which was due to being a woman. Motherhood has been another turning point. For the past five years, she says, many times she has simply stopped being her Natalia to become “the mother of”. She explains it with humor, but also with the awareness that being a mother – in the midst of positions, work and projects – rearranges priorities, time and identity.
Natalia Gallego
