"I'm very excited to be going to the games in Rio"

Anna Espar will soon be travelling to Rio de Janeiro to participate in her second Olympic Games. Hard-working, organised, competitive, brilliant are some of the adjectives used to define this 23-year-old woman who combines her career in water polo with studying a degree at the UAB.

28/06/2016

"Studying at university makes you a better athlete: you learn to organise and make use of your time a lot more"

Anna Espar, Anni to her friends, is considered to be one of the most determinant players of the Spanish water polo team, and at only 23 she has one of the most brilliant sports careers in Europe: she has been European champion four times with the Club Natació Sabadell, Olympic sub champion and European champion with the Spanish water polo team.

Her success however goes beyond the pool: in addition to her brilliant career in sports, Anna began her studies in Business Management and Administration at the UAB three years ago and has passed all her subjects.

She forms part of the Tutoresport programme, an academic support programme for elite athletes studying at the UAB which began as a very innovative programme in the 1996-1997 academic year. This year, 112 students at the UAB have been able to study with the help of this programme and a handful of them will also be participating in the Olympic Games in Rio.

-Why did you decide to go to university, given the amount of dedication needed in high competition sports?
-Because I know that one day my sports career will be over and I need to be prepared for that. You need to have the skills and training to work in other areas once you leave the sports world. I don't know exactly what I'll be doing, but business management and administration offers many professional options. I also know many people who have studied this degree and they really liked it.

-Why did you choose the UAB?
-I live in Barcelona, but since I train with my team in Sabadell, at the Club Natació, coming to the UAB seemed like the best option. It's halfway in between and that made it the perfect place.

-You chose to do an on-site degree instead of enrolling in an open university and studying online.
-Yes, I was determined to attend classes to the university, even though I knew it would be more difficult because of schedules, exams, etc. I find it important to be able to go to classes, meet with other students; an online degree wouldn't let me experience the things that make me happy right now.

-The UAB offers the Tutoresport programme for athletes like you, with support to help you balance studying with your sports career. Has it helped you?
-Yes, of course. We travel a lot to competitions and sometimes there are exams or assignments are due on the same day, so with the help of the Tutoresport tutors, we can make sure to set a date for everything. For example, we had a competition in China from 31 May to 20 June, right in the middle of all the exams! But thanks to the tutors and the Tutoresport programme, we were able to move the dates up and I left for China after having taken all my exams.

-Are you doing well in your studies, Anna? Are they easy to combine with your career?
-It is easy, actually. I really like the degree in Business Management and Administration and I think that being able to study makes you an even better athlete. I get more out of my afternoons. I make use of every second! Normally I attend 70% of my classes, although this past term I was only able to go to 50% of the classes... I really like finances, human resources and marketing. I took five subjects and passed all of them. I'm very happy about that!

-What is a typical day for an Olympic athlete and student like you?
-I get up at 7:30 a.m. I start classes at 9 am and they last until noon. At 12:15 p.m. I'm at Sabadell, at the club pool, and I train until 4:30 p.m. or so. After that, I have lunch and study at home from 4:30 to 7 p.m. or so. From 8 to 10 p.m. I go back and train some more. This is my normal schedule during the year, but now that we're training non-stop for the Olympic Games, I train every day some 6 to 8 hours. It's very tiring, but I am also very excited to be going to the Olympic Games.

-They are your second Olympic Games. Four years ago in London, you won the silver medal and came second after the United States. What are your expectations for the Spanish team this year in Rio?
-Personally, I was younger in London and those were my first games. Now, four years later I'm 23 and I think I'm much more mature and have more experience. Our team has been at the top for many years and I think the others will notice that. We're full of hope and energy and we're prepared to win it all.