There’s a trail blazing streak to the Palacios sisters, Valeria and Alessia. In March they scooped qualification tickets to Paris 2024, by finishing second in the Americas Olympic and Paralympic qualification regatta in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Best friend and teammate Adriana Sanguinetti will join them, having qualified at the same regatta in the women’s single sculls.
Sanguinetti is known affectionately by the twins as their “third sister”, the three have known each other since they were children. They used to compete against each other for rival clubs, Sanguinetti raced for one of the oldest clubs in South America, Club de Regatas Lima (CRL), and the twins represented Regatas Universitario.
These three are the sole rowers representing Peru in Paris and this is the first time Peru has qualified two women’s boats. Camila Valle, who raced in the women’s single sculls at Rio 2016, was the first and last female rower to compete at an Olympics for Peru. With the Olympics lightweight events soon to be no more, the Palacios twins have timed it perfectly.
Their path to Paris, and longstanding efforts to reach the Olympic standard, saw the twins progress at increasingly competitive international events. They are Pan American Games finalists and Bolivian Games gold medallists in the lightweight women’s double and medalled at the South American Games in multiple boat classes.
While on training camp in Brazil, Row360 caught up with Valeria (VP) and Alessia (AP).
Congratulations on qualifying for the Olympics. What were your thoughts after racing at Rio?
AP: We couldn’t believe it. When I crossed the finish line, I thought I was dreaming.
VP: The first thing we did when we got off the water was find out if our friend Adriana had qualified – and she had! We celebrated together with our parents, coach Diego Mejía and Adriana. We were very happy.
AP: On the day of the final we were very focused. We knew what we had to do, and although we felt nervous, we knew how to control it.
VP: We wanted to show everything that we’d done in training. We’ve trained together since we were 12 years old, and we’ve always wanted to go to the Olympic Games.
Why? Where did your Olympic dreams come from?
VP: Well, we always knew we wanted to go to the Olympic Games. We had that mentality from the start. We knew it would be hard and we’d need to make sacrifices, but that did not stop us.
AP: Since 2016 we’ve been in the national team, but from 2020 we were more serious about getting to the Olympics; sharpening our mindset and training with more focus.
VP: We went to World Cups and competed with great athletes to find out what our level was and tried to raise it. We knew we had to improve to qualify.
AP: Last year we did a tour of Europe. We raced at two World Cups and at the World Championships, and between competitions trained in Varese, Italy. This helped us a lot.
VP: The first time we raced in Europe was at the 2018 World Rowing Junior Championships, we raced in a quad. We learnt that the standard was very high outside of Peru, but it motivated us to get better.
You returned for the Under 23s in 2021 and again the following year when you won a historic medal for Peru. How did it feel?
VP: Incredible. We never imagined that we would be the first to win a world medal for Peru.
AP: After finishing in fifth place in 2021 I felt it was almost impossible to reach the podium, but one thing that characterizes us is perseverance. We never gave up. We continued rowing and trained much harder, that’s how we achieved our medal.
What’s it like rowing with your sister?
AP: We love it. We trust each other and we’ve got a great relationship.
VP: If one of us thinks something, they’ll say it. We don’t take things the wrong way, and we’ll never abandon each other.
AP: We know we need to fight for our dream, but we are determined to accomplish what we’ve set out to do. Most important of all, we’ll always be there for each other.
VP: As sisters anything we achieve together will be a family achievement family. I love that.
Do you remember your first time in a boat?
AP: After doing a lot of other sports, Dad (Jorge ‘Coco’ Palacios) took us to a rowing club in La Punta, near where we live, when we were 12 years old.
VP: We rowed in a double, the two of us together. It was very fun, and Dad was in another boat alongside.
AP: Dad’s a rower, he started when he was 17 years old. He taught us how to row.
VP: We loved it. We won our first competition together and fell in love with the sport.
What do you do outside of rowing?
VP: We both study International Business and Administration, online at UPC (Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas) in Peru.
AP: After rowing, we want to be great businesswomen. We’d like to develop businesses together, have our own sports business, and continue our Dad’s management company.
What does the rest of the year look like for you?
VP: Now we are preparing for the Olympics. We’ll be training in Italy, and we’ll go to the second and third World Cups, and then Paris.
Do you have any plans for after Paris?
AP: Yes, we will race at the World Championships in Canada. Our dream is to win a gold medal.
VP: We also want to continue training for the next Pan American Games, which will be held in Lima, Peru. We’d love to win a gold medal in our own country.
What’s the rowing scene like in Peru?
AP: Training in Peru is complicated. We must travel a lot because there’s no dedicated rowing infrastructure. Normally we go to Paracas. There’s a beautiful bay there where you can row non-stop for many kilometres, but only in the mornings because the wind picks up later in the day.
VP: Otherwise, we go to the lagoon in Huacho, but we can’t row there now because it is full of algae.
How often do you train?
AP: We train two or three times a day, except on Saturdays and Sundays; on those days we just train once.
VP: We normally row in La Punta Callao, but the lake is very short, that’s another reason why we go to Paracas or Huacho, which are both three hours from Callao.
Will you carry on after Paris, even without the lightweight category in LA 2028? Have you considered coastal?
VP: Removing the lightweight category disorients us a little, but we would love to go to a second Games. We’ll see about Los Angeles.
AP: Switching to coastal is not in our plans, it is not a modality that we like. We will see what the future holds, and if our thinking changes.
What does it mean to you to represent Peru?
VP: We are proud to show that Peru can achieve great things internationally.
AP: We’ll always be happy to represent our country.
Best advice?
AP: “Never give up. If the world tells you, ‘No’, go out and show it ‘YES!’” No-one should limit how far you can go…
VP: You must determine that for yourself.
This article first appeared in Issue 52
