Sustainability spotlight – Q&A with Fia Fjelddahl

Taking to the water in Saltsjöbaden will be Sweden’s Fia Fjelddahl, Sweden’s youngest athlete at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where she finished 12th in the 2.4mR class and was chosen to carry the Swedish flag during the closing ceremony.

Fia started sailing in summer camps when she was eight years old before moving into club racing at the age of nine.

At first, Fjeddahl feared some aspects of the sport due to her impairment, a form of cerebral palsy, and avoided going out onto the water when the wind was up and the waves were high, but she persevered and, at 16, was the youngest competitor at the 2015 Para World Sailing Championships.

Fia learned to sail in Optimist, Europe and 29er classes alongside able-bodied athletes, and is now using this strong sailing background within the Paralympic disciplines. Being part of Sweden’s fledgling Paralympic sailing team and benefitting from the support of the World Sailing Paralympic Development Program has helped to develop a tactical awareness not often found in sailors so young.

She has continued to improve and now sails with a free track – sailing without covering boats – and has continued to excel, winning bronze at the 2.4mR World Cup in 2019, silver in the 2020 Nordic Championships and silver with Markus Jenkinson at the 2020 Inclusion World Championships.

Alongside sailing, Fia is studying Sustainable Engineering and has taken steps outside of sailing to live greener and reduce her own impact on the planet while also focusing on how the sport itself can be more sustainable.

What does sustainability mean to you?

Sustainability for me is about finding a life pattern that I can do without making a big change. It is also about finding something that is not just good for the environment but works in society and the tech industry as well.

How did you get interested in sustainability?

Since I’m a sailor, I’ve always been outside regardless of the weather which has made me appreciate the earth no matter what the sky is showing. I have to have good knowledge of weather as a sailor and therefore I am up to date with what is happening in our atmosphere. These are some of the reasons why I think sustainability work is so important.

What are you most proud of in terms of your work on sustainability?As a sailor, it is hard to take the train everywhere but whenever I don’t need my boat, I try to take the train as much as possible. I have also been a vegetarian for two years now and it’s been great because it creates less food waste for me.

What would be your advice to those in sailing or anyone who wants to help?

A great first step is to be aware of all the small waste that can blow away in the wind, such as tape, and pieces of plastic and rope. We all know microplastic in the ocean is a huge problem, and since we work with the ocean, we should take care of it. Another great thing to do is to have recycling bins for paper, plastic, food at several places throughout the sailing club and event venue. If we can create a culture about recycling more, then we also become more aware of how much waste we are creating.