Combine the high performance sport with a university career It may seem like an impossible challenge, but there are young Argentine athletes who turned this mix into a way of life. Between demanding training, competitions, hours of study and exams, Delfina Veljanovichfrom the Argentine figure skating team, and Candela Gentinettaa member of the basketball team, show that discipline and passion can go hand in hand with knowledge. “You can find a balance”they assured in dialogue with THE NATION.
Delfina is one of the most outstanding skaters in Argentina at only 21 years old.. From the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Balvanera, he began his career in the GEBA club and at the age of 14 he already managed to make the leap to represent the country in international tournaments. Since she was a child, her aptitude for sport made her stand out from the others and, thanks to her efforts, she has already made a strong impact on the world stage: In 2022 she placed fifth in the junior world championship and last year she finished seventh in the senior world championship.
“From a very young age I set new goals, to raise the bar of my demands. I was more and more determined in what I wanted, looking to have better results to be able to continue representing Argentina“Said the young woman who, upon finishing school and already having an advanced career in sports, had to decide whether to start a university career.
Without fear, Delfina chose the career of Industrial Engineering. “During the pandemic I started doing vocational guidance. I was very interested in everything about process analysis, decision making, organization, also working as a team, looking for common goals. I always liked numerical things, mathematics,” he said.
By choosing your demanding career, The young woman began a tough routine that combines long days of training, courses and national and international travel. to participate in different tournaments. “I train from the morning until noon. I return home, I take a bath and I go to school. I try to complete my subjects as late as possible so I can train during the day in peace,” he said, adding that “the most difficult thing is to make everything compatible when there are trips.”
In order to coordinate her study and her sports career, Delfina entered the Program for High Performance Student Athletes of the UBAwhich offers a special course and evaluation regime for students.
“The program helps me a lot. I found out about the program in my second semester at CBC, through my sports psychologist, and he gave me support. I have a designated tutor and priority when signing up for subjectswhich is essential to manage faculty schedules with training schedules. In case I miss an exam, I can request a deferred date to take it,” the skater said.
Although sport and study are often thought of as opposite poles, for Delfina they are “complementary” and each activity helps her “disconnect” from the other. “Study is essential in the development of the person and so is sport.. Sports give you a lot of tools for life on how to relate to other people and constantly encounter adversity. And at the same time my life does not depend on a tournament, apart from being an athlete, I am a person and in the future I want to work as a professional in the career I am studying,” he assured.
“I am happy combining both things”said Delfina as she accelerates her preparation for the next World Cup in her sport, which takes place in October in Asunción, Paraguay.
Candela Gentinetta was born in Rafaela, Santa Fe, and showed an aptitude for basketball since she was little.. “In my family everyone played the sport at some point. My old man especially wanted to start, so he’s crazy.” At the age of 14 he earned his first call-up to the youth team and at the age of 18 he began playing professionally as a center.
When he finished school, he did not hesitate to follow his other vocation: the medical career. “Since primary school I knew that I wanted to be a doctor. My mother is a doctor too and I played at being a doctor as a child with my sister,” said the young woman and assured that being a professional did not prevent her from continuing studying, despite the obvious difficulties. “When the possibility of professional basketball came up, I had never thought about being able to dedicate myself to that, but I always stood firm in medicine”, he acknowledged.
Currently, at 25 years old, She plays in the senior women’s basketball team and in the Obras Sanitarias Club while she has only one year left to graduate from the UBA.where he also joined the high-performance athletes plan to complement his two passions. “It helped me more than anything because of the issue of absences, because in the race a lot of attendance is usually taken and I was always walking along the ledge so as not to be left free. They gave me special tables and they have even taken my exam alone, It allowed me to continue advancing in my career.“said Candela, who was part of the team that played in the World Cup qualifiers in Türkiye in March, where the team failed to qualify.
Like any sport that is not soccer, in Argentina it is very difficult to make a living from women’s basketball, so Candela’s plan has to do with thinking about her future. “There are clubs that are providing better conditions, with good salaries, but there are some that are just getting into professionalism,” he said about the economic reality of the local league.
Candela says that she “juggles” to combine her activities in her daily routine, where In the mornings he does a rotation at the Houssay Hospital of Vicente López, in the afternoons he trains at his club and at night he returns to take other subjects of the degree. Despite the demands, for the medical student, sport and study enhance each other.
“There is a direct relationship. When I am burned out by exams or studying for many hours, I go to train and release endorphins, I run everywhere, I clear my mind. And vice versa: when I play a bad game I don’t even have time to reproach myself or have intrusive thoughts because I have to start studying again,” she stated, adding that “It is very demanding, but you can find a balance, I am happy enjoying my day to day”.
