Today we’d like to introduce you to Larissa Paes.
Hi Larissa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I’m from Brazil and came to the United States to train in Ice Speed Skating, with the goal of making the Winter Olympics. I got my first pair of rollerblades when I was 6, and at 13 years old started training inline speed skating at a local team in my city. I quickly started winning local and national competitions, and in 2010 participated in my first World Championships. Since then, I continued to represent Brazil at multiple international events.
In 2018, after the inline speed skating World Championships in the Netherlands, I was invited to a week-long training camp on the ice, and although I had never tried ice speed skating, it was a great experience. The Brazilian Ice Sports Federation then invited me to go to the United States to train on ice full-time from October 2018 to March 2019. I accepted their offer and came to Salt Lake City.
Each year after that I came back for the winter season and kept working hard towards my goals, improving my race times and beating personal records. This year, I was able to make the qualifying time to compete at the World Cup that will happen on December 3-5, becoming the first Brazilian woman to ever compete at a World event on ice speed skating.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been for sure a very difficult road, from when I started back in Brazil and had to divide my time between training and studying, and had to choose the sport many times over friends and family. The loss of my uncle due to terminal cancer and subsequently my grandfather’s suicide was a heavyweight for a teenager, but I had to keep training and focus on competitions.
Dealing with emotional traumas, injuries, having to be away from my family to train for long periods and constantly adjusting to foreign cultures, all of that takes so much strength that honestly I don’t even understand how I made it. It’s a daily effort that has to be made in order to live a dream, and while it’s very difficult, it would be even harder to give up knowing that I can still achieve so much.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m very passionate about speedskating, to the point that the sport has become most of my life and personality. I currently hold all the female national records for Brazil (500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m). That makes me super proud, not because of a title but because of how far I’ve come. And now I’ll be the first Brazilian to ever compete at the World Cup, that’s so exciting!
I’ll be participating in the Mass Start race, which is 16 laps on the 400m track. It’s a very difficult race because, unlike the individual distances, on this one, you’re actually facing all the other skaters in a pack, similar to cycling competitions. It’s for sure a big challenge but I’m happy to have qualified and will do my best to learn from the most experienced skaters.
Being able to train and compete at such a high level is for sure a privilege and I’m really grateful for each step that led me here.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My family is for sure responsible for all of my achievements, without the support of my parent’s none of this would be possible. They have put in a lot of effort, money, time, love, and trust in me. My team back in Brazil also played a big role, Equipe Jaguar, which I represented in competitions for 12 years.
Today, my coach here in the United States, Mitchell Whitmore, is the person who guides me to improve on-ice speed skating and celebrates each record, as well as my teammates. It’s always a team effort, there’s no achieving anything in this life without others.
Contact Info:
- Email: tropicaliceskater@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lari_atleta/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atletalarissa/
Image Credits
@vintageyouthphotography and @jesse.g.photo
