Ms. Namita Nayyar: Advice and motivational words to the inspiring and budding sailor girls who all are your fans, they shall like to know from you, what they should do for their climb to ladder of success in field of laser radial sailing?
Ms. Erika Reineke: The best advice I can give to young radial girls is to always remember to have fun and be yourself. Before every training session or regatta day on the water, it has become part of my routine to launch my boat early and take a second to appreciate the scenery and the beauty of the sport. This reminds me how blessed I am to be in the sport and how much fun it is to just sail.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Throughout your college sailing career, you have been a three-time Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year Finalist, three-time Women’s All-American, and received recognition as an Honorable Mention in the Coed Division. How were you able to create a balance between your college education and sailing career?
Ms. Erika Reineke: It was one of the hardest things I had to do in my life. Pursuing my academics, college sailing, and olympic sailing was stressful, time consuming, and exhausting. Almost every weekend was taken over by college sailing regattas so Saturdays and Sundays were not an option to study. Additionally, there were weeks at a time that I would take off of school for my olympic sailing career. Missing a week of class might not sound that bad but making up work is extremely difficult. The biggest thing I took away from it all was how to manage my time. I organized time to meet with my professors in office hours and scheduled tutoring through Boston College’s Student-Athlete Center.
If I knew I had an olympic sailing event coming up, I would ask for work a month ahead of time so I could be stress free when the regatta came around. With all these things going on, it’s also not healthy to deprive yourself a social life. After all, you only get to experience college once. I made sure to block in times to hangout with friends and go to social events. Overall, balancing everything was an extremely challenging experience but with the help of a planner, I was able to make it work.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: You came second at the 2011 ISAF Youth Sailing World Champs, third at the 2010 ISAF Youth World Champs, and 1st at the 2010 Laser Youth World Champs. Tell us about the most memorable experience that you’ve had across all these Championships?
Ms. Erika Reineke: My most memorable moment was winning the 2010 and 2011 Laser Youth Worlds after just having come off a loss at the 2010 and 2011 ISAF Youth Worlds. Both ISAF Worlds preceded the Laser Worlds by one week. Two years in a row after losing the ISAF’s, a fire ignited in my stomach to go out and win it all the following week. Standing on the podium watching the American flag rise proudly was a moment I will never forget.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Being a Female in a Male’s Sport, how are you able to perform at par with your other male opponents?
Ms. Erika Reineke: Honestly, it takes a little more effort. I know that with all my gym work, I will probably never be as strong as some of the best male athletes in the sport. However, the goal for me is to minimize the gap physically. The stronger I get, the more confident I am that I can take down my male competitors. Also, sailing is just as much a mind game as it is physical. If your mental game is strong you have every advantage. You could be the strongest sailor in the world but if your tactical game isn’t sharp then you will not come out with a win.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: What do you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and message for its visitors?
Ms. Erika Reineke: Live in the moment and always remember to smile! 🙂
To know more about Erika, check out her website: http://www.erikareineke.com/
To get all the latest news follow her on her social networks:
https://twitter.com/amerikandreem
https://www.instagram.com/amerikandreem/
Women Fitness Team thanks Erika Reineke for giving us her valuable time for this interview and quenching the thirst of her fans to know more about her and making this interview happen.
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