Eyeing the podium: Lorena Molinos
By Helena Petry and Mariana Sá - inArtistic swimming has been a part of Lorena Molinos' life for almost 20 years. Since she was 9, when she grew tired of swimming, the Flamengo fan has been training diligently in Flamengo's pools. Lorena, who also practiced artistic gymnastics, combined the two disciplines and quickly became a standout swimmer at the club and in Brazil.
The swimmer reached the Mais Querido (Most Beloved) thanks to her stepfather, Ronaldo Carvalho, a rower for the Rubro-Negro team, a two-time Pan American champion and three-time Olympic participant. She was the only one of three siblings to continue in the sport and, at 28, has accumulated achievements for the Brazilian National Team.
In the series "Eye on the Podium," Flamengo's official website tells the stories of some of the club's and Brazil's top athletes, covering their personal lives, careers, and, of course, their favorite. Learn more about those who make Flamengo and Brazil's Olympic sports stronger.
Beginning in sport
I did artistic gymnastics and swimming here at Flamengo, and I was next door to the pool, right? Swimming was a mandatory sport at home. My brother and sister did it because they had asthma, so they had to know how to swim to help with their breathing. But I didn't really like it; I thought counting tiles was a pain. So, when I was 9, I went to my mom and asked to switch to artistic swimming, since it's also a water sport. I asked to try it. I signed up here at the club by myself, took the paperwork to her, and said, "Mom, just pay," and she let me.
So I left swimming and started swimming. When I was about 14 or 15, I tried out for the first youth national team tryout for my first South American Championship and passed. I made it, traveled, and became a champion. So I thought, "That's it! I want to compete more, I want to travel, compete in the World Championship, the South American Championship, try for the Olympics," and that's how it all began.
Arrival at Flamengo
My mother divorced my father when I was about six. I was swimming at the Jockey Club, and when she met my stepfather (Ronaldo Carvalho), he was a rower for Flamengo at the time, a two-time Pan American champion, and had been to three Olympics. So he brought us here.
Most memorable moment in sport
I think the most memorable thing was the 2011 Pan American Games. We were competing for the bronze medal against Mexico, and the Games were in Guadalajara. It really left a mark on me, us on stage waiting for our scores, and when we saw we'd made it, we started screaming and crying. It was really cool.
Daily routine
Now we're about to travel to the World Cup and the Pan American Games, so we train twice a day—morning and afternoon—almost every day. I wake up at 6:6 a.m., leave home around 30:7 a.m., and training starts at 30:11 a.m. and goes until 12:30 a.m. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we work out until 15:18 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday, we double up from XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. to XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.
Greatest difficulties for high-performance athletes
I think it's the routine, which is tiring, and we have to be 100% in training. That's basically it, the day-to-day is very tiring, very intense, and we have to give 100% here, at college, with our family, with our boyfriend... and I think it ends up being quite exhausting.
Main competitions of the year and preparation
The World Cup, which will be in Korea, and the Pan American Games in Lima. I confess that these will be my last competitions with the national team. I'll finish now at the Pan American Games, aiming for bronze to cap off my international career with a flourish, and next year I'll just stay here at Flamengo.
Return to the Brazilian National Team
I left in 2017, resigning from the national team because I was already very tired and needed to focus on college, but Beta (Roberta Perillier), who has been my coach since I was 9, decided to return to coach the national team and asked for my help. She said, "Please come back, I need you," and I replied that I would do it for her. I came back to help her and also because I like it, that's the truth. It wasn't an obligation. Since returning to the national team, I won the South American championship in 2018. We also went to the French Open this year and placed first in the combined routine. Expectations are high for the Pan American Games.
Relationship with coach Roberta Perillier
At Flamengo, Beta has been my coach since I was little. I trained with Mônica Rosas, who was a coach here, and with Gláucia Soutinho, but Beta raised me, she truly shaped me as an athlete. She's like a second mother to me; sometimes I see her more than my own.
Family structure
I have a brother and a sister, who is now married and has a daughter, and my mother and stepfather. My brothers played sports here at Flamengo, water polo and rowing, but they eventually left, and I'm the only one who stayed. I think they're proud of me for achieving my goals and dreams in swimming.
Idol in sports
I have enormous admiration for Bolt, I think he's incredible, and so does my stepfather for his achievements.
Hobby
I really like trails, beaches, waterfalls… I like nature.
Do you follow other modalities?
Little… Football sometimes.
If I wasn't an athlete
Good question, I really don't know. My degree is in dentistry, nothing to do with sports. I've always liked medicine, but with swimming, I wouldn't have had a chance. You either choose to be a doctor or a high-performance athlete, and my stepfather is a dentist too, so I think that, since I was little, because I looked up to him, I got that into my head, and when I was close to graduating, I decided to go into dentistry too. It's a field I enjoy, so I followed in his footsteps.
Free time
I don't have much free time, but I enjoy dinner on Saturday night, a movie, and Netflix is addictive these days. I also really enjoy the beach on Sundays, late afternoons... I also love extreme sports, but I'm avoiding them now because there's a competition nearby. I love wakeboarding, skydiving, and rappelling.
Technical sheet
Name: Lorena Molinos
Age: 28 years
Height: 1,85m
Place of Birth: Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Main achievements: Participating in the 2016 Olympics and winning the bronze medal at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara