July 24, 2024
4 minutes reading time
53 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by Iberostar. © Sailing Energy / Princesa Sofía Mallorca
04 April, 2024
Stefan Peschiera: Peru’s superstar sailor with water in his blood
Stefano Peschiera started sailing at the tender age of three but that was no surprise – it is in his blood.
The Peruvian has consistently made sailing history for his country while the Peschieras have been doing that for centuries.
It has not always been straightforward for the 29-year-old who has had a weight of expectations on him, but they are expectations he is starting to realise.
‘One in 43’
Peschiera was born in Lima, but he is perhaps more at home an hour north of the capital in Ancón, in sailing conditions he describes as similar to the ones he’ll face in Marseille at his third Olympics this summer.
It was in Ancón that his family spent their summers sailing, with Peschiera raised on his grandfather’s 42-foot wooden boat.
Go back another generation and Peschiera’s great-grandfather was the first person to bring the Lightning dinghy – the popular American boat first designed in the 1930s – to Peru.
With all that family history, Peschiera felt destined to become a sailor but he is in fact the only one of 43 cousins across both sides of his family to make it as a professional.
“I remember enjoying my time sailing as a kid,” Peschiera said. “I didn’t spend that much time with my grandfather when I got older, so my memories are from when I was actually pretty young.
“And then the rest of my memories are with my dad on the boat when I was seven or older.”
View this post on Instagram
Outgrowing the boat
Peschiera began to take sailing seriously from aged seven onwards as he joined a group of like-minded young athletes who all pushed each other to be better.
Despite his commitment to sailing, the young Peruvian still had time to try out many different sports, representing his school in football, handball, water polo, swimming and athletics.
A growth spurt aged 13 saw his results in the Optimist class dip before finding the ILCA class that has become his home.
His sporting excellence did not come at the expense of his academic success, that was the deal he made and kept with his parents who were unwavering in their support.
He added: “I owe everything to them because of the amount of support they gave me, both with their time and their motivation and also economically.
View this post on Instagram
“They would drive me from soccer games on Sunday at 10 all the way to a regatta two hours away so it was hectic.
“They put up with it and they would convince me to do both things and they were highly motivated, I wouldn’t have done anything in sport without their support.”
The weight of a nation
Another part of the bargain he struck with his parents was to attend college before diving headfirst into sailing.
He was again able to do both, qualifying for his first Olympic Games while still studying at the College of Charleston.
He finished 31st in Rio having become the first Peruvian to directly qualify for the Games in sailing.
“Since I started representing Peru, I always felt a responsibility,” said Peschiera, who finally won Pan American gold last year having previously been his country’s flagbearer.
View this post on Instagram
“At first you don’t realise how important it is because you are a group of kids going to North America and it is all fun.
“But then when it came to actually performing, and your flag being on the line, you started feeling the responsibility.
“And I have never changed that, I have always felt the responsibility when I represent my flag and my country and that is what makes me honour my country and give everything I have on every race and at every regatta I do.”
Growing through humility
That pressure has not always been worn so well, with Peschiera revealing he has had to work hard on his mental strength.
He believes the sport has humbled him, particularly at the Olympics, where he has failed to finish the final race on both occasions due to two yellow flags.
He said: “I thought I could finish in the top 15/20 at Rio but that didn’t happen because I think my mind wasn’t ready for an event that big or that important and that is where I struggled the most.
“Both in the Rio and the Tokyo Games, I ended up finishing worse than I could have if I hadn’t been thrown out of the last race with my second yellow flag which was brutal.
“It is not something I am super proud of, but it is something that is funny for me. You get super embarrassed because you are representing your country and doing ok in the regatta.
“Now my sailing style has changed a lot and my consistency in the results is much better, I think in the years I have been growing and getting to know myself, now it is different.
“Hopefully I sail the last two races, the last fleet race and the medal race. I think I would be extremely happy if I finish the last race of the regatta.”