She has managed to be 2004 WCT ( World Championship Tour) WORLD CHAMPION on one of the toughest competitive circuits in sport in general. As if that were not more than enough, she is the youngest champion in history and the first Latin American to achieve it.
However, it has not been given the attention it deserves, because even though it is the largest sporting event in our history, the sports news continues to give more space to the impoverished national soccer championship.
This triumph gives Peru a positive image, as we have in it a great ambassador , transcending beyond the sports field, becoming a very important event for the country. This will have an economic impact (greater investment in board sport, increase in sports tourism, etc.), social (decrease in machismo, increase in sports practice by women, etc.) and psychological (optimism, hope , increased self-esteem and pride of being Peruvian, feelings that we can achieve our goals with effort and dedication, etc.) in our society.
Causes
Excellent Technique: Something that always caught my attention about her was her radical style and that it really did not differ from the masculine one, as it happened before with her predecessors. Of course, now it can be argued that there are more girls like this in our environment, such as Analí Gómez and Brissa Málaga, but Sofía was the forerunner, having only the boys who practiced this sport as a role model. Surely because of this and to continue growing as an athlete, he began to compete against them, managing to beat them on many occasions. It should be noted that athletes must have at least ten years of constant and dedicated practice to show their full potential, as is the case with Sofía, since she has been practicing since she was nine years old and the fact of living in the beach, facilitated a daily work. Obviously, talent is also important, but you have to polish it and work it properly and in that, as well as in its formative and competitive development, a lot has definitely had to do with its former coaches Roberto Meza and Magoo de la Rosa.
Family support: It is seen that his mother has and has had a fundamental role in his training, also having a lot of support from his brother (Matías Mulanovich , also a professional surfer), as well as from his entire family. The fact that she feels so loved and supported makes her develop a great self-esteem. This is another of the most important points, behind every champion there is a family that supports him unconditionally, as is the case, and, specifically, the role of the mother has been fundamental. Respecting and taking into consideration the needs and requests of her daughter, even if they violate her own wishes, since Sofía does not perform well when her mother is present, so she stays in Lima anxiously waiting to know the results.
Education: She has had a good education, not only at home but at school, which has allowed her to be stronger and smarter, not only in sports terms, but in her general life. He has received a comprehensive training, which now allows him to function better in a foreign environment, with another language and culture, without his family and friends. Another clear example of this aspect is that of the footballers Paolo Guerrero and Jefferson Farfán, who have gone out to play abroad and are succeeding, thanks largely to the fact that very important work was done in the minor divisions of Alianza Lima and specifically in Los Reyes Rojos School under the supervision of the director Constantino Carvallo. I believe that Sofía’s education has been fundamental so that she can adapt and learn from the best in the Roxy house (home for professional surfers sponsored by that brand).
Motivation: You have clear goals. I have had the opportunity to see videos that show in his room, pasted on the walls, his goals as an athlete, something very important to maintain motivation and always keep in mind the objectives to be achieved. Besides, he was always hungry for glory. When she got to the airport she said something that I think sums up her achievements very well: “I won because I was the one who loved him the most.”
Discipline: She is a constant, disciplined athlete with an orderly life. You know when it ‘s time to train and focus and when it’s time to distract yourself.
Mental toughness: “She has great faith in herself.” This year in which he has won , he has not only won, but recovered from a very bad start. This clearly speaks of his inner strength not to let himself be crushed by the situation, but quite the opposite, because he is able to overcome adversity. She is a warrior, you can see this from her attitude, her posture, she does not give up anything for lost and she fights to the end, not caring about anything. For me this is one of the key points to have a world champion and it is she herself who in her statements gives a lot of importance to the mental part. In the words of Mark Spitz (7 gold medals in Swimming at the Munich Olympics in 1972): “Once the physical skills are developed, the difference between winning or losing is 99% psychological.”
Confidence: “There has been great confidence this year.” I dare say that this is due to the ISA World title obtained at the beginning of the year in Ecuador, Salinas, which was an amateur team championship, where generally the best in the world are not. She had great emotional support from her teammates, there were the two coaches who formed her: Roberto Meza and Magoo de la Rosa, and also, as she said, she felt local because of the support of the people. I think that all this helped her a lot to know that she had great ability and that she could achieve great things. This for me was a key point in developing his confidence to achieve what he achieved this year.
Competitiveness: She enjoys her profession, she feels very lucky because she lives from what she likes to do the most. She loves to compete, loves the challenge, exposing herself against other competitors simply makes her feel more attracted to the competition and encourages her to give more of herself.
Dreamer: “ Dreaming was always allowed”, something very important for an athlete. Probably without knowing it, when dreaming he was doing what in Sports Psychology is called “visualization”, which is imagining himself acting in the best possible way, this practice greatly improves performance, both at a technical, physical, psychological and tactical level. . When you imagine that you are doing an activity, the muscles that are used when doing sports work, but at a lower intensity and if the visualization is very vivid, the brain does not differentiate between reality and dream, so it is like if it were actually being done. The actual practice of sport added to the mental practice is a lethal combination when done correctly.
Relaxation: He has learned to control the nerves, anxiety and stress of the first level sport through the practice of Yoga and meditation, these practices also influence, indirectly, increasing the ability to concentrate. This is not something new, it is something that many athletes and sports psychologists have used for quite some time. Another way to relax is through cross training , that is, combining competitive sports with other recreational ones; and she uses tennis for this. Finally, another form of relaxation used with great success by Sofía is to laugh, she smiles and laughs a lot, this makes her relax from the stresses and pressures of competitive sport, maintaining a positive energy flow. As we can see, it has several tools to manage the stress and pressure of sport in the first competitive world where it works, which ensures a great capacity to relax and recover, more quickly and efficiently, both physically and psychologically.
Positive energy: “You constantly give yourself positive and encouraging messages.” It is seen that he is a person who does not allow negative messages to enter his head, he always tries to maintain a positive and cheerful attitude. In his room he has positive messages stuck to him that he engraves in his mind to use whenever he needs them.
Great ability to concentrate: Before entering to compete, she separates completely from others and immerses herself. He also wears headphones (may have positive messages or his favorite music) to focus on what he has to do in the here and now. He is totally abstracted and begins to “mentalize” and “activate” to enter to compete.
Resilient : The ability she has had to first make a living from what she likes to do and then become world champion, with an impressive campaign, is truly amazing. In a country like ours in which there is no sports culture, it implies making a great effort, sacrifice, maintaining an orderly and balanced life and believing in itself (values that are not at all rooted in our society). A girl appears who defies everything, since Peru does not have an adequate state policy. All the adventures that she must have gone through to get to where she is in the context of being a Peruvian have made her a much stronger and more resistant person. Now that she is a world champion, many companies support her, however, the only ones who supported her at the beginning, bet and believed in her were those of Billabong . For all this she is resilient , because no matter how many difficulties appear to her, this will make her stronger. From time to time these people will appear out of the ordinary, I wish they would appear more but without the support of private companies, or the state (remember that we are a country poor in money and education, and sport cannot be alien to this), this it will be very difficult. She has a lot of merit since in this context she has achieved what she achieved, and of course, she owes this to herself, her family and the people who believed in her and supported her.
Everything that Sofia has achieved could be summed up in a single phrase, coined by herself:
“I won because I was the one who loved him the most.”
Sofía Mulanovich has taught all Peruvians together with Cienciano that it is possible (the so famous phrase coined by the Cuzqueño team) to achieve the goals set, as long as they do not let them go along with the dreams, and they fight tirelessly for they.
Photo: http://www.sofiamulanovich.com