Mariafe Artacho del Solar has big dreams to fulfil on beach volleyball court
SHE’S the third smallest player on the beach volleyball world tour but Mariafe Artacho del Solar has big dreams to fulfil and a promise to keep.
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SHE”S the third smallest player on the beach volleyball world tour but Mariafe Artacho del Solar has big dreams to fulfil and a promise to keep.
The 174cm Australian player says she has been moulded by experiences of the past and what she lacks in centimetres is made up with determination, commitment and passion.
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Born in Lima, Peru, del Solar came to Australia at 11 with her mother Isabel.
“She wanted to give me a better life,” said del Solar, who was entered in a beach volleyball competition at Manly at age 12 and fell instantly in love with the sport.
“She said there was more opportunity here for me dream.
“She was 50 and had to start from rock bottom. She came with $1000 that friends helped raise for her.
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“We stayed with relatives when we got here. I remember mum would start work at a cafe from 6am to 3pm but walk there because we didn’t have a car. Then she’d go to another job after that because there always school bills and things to pay.
“We did it all together. We did it all alone.
“I went through downs and highs but she was there at every moment and we fight every challenge together.”
Del Solar, who spoke no English on her arrival in Sydney, says she is driven to do her mother proud after her sacrifices.
“I promise her I will do my best. We are very close. We talk all the time and she is always up at 2am, 3am, watching if I am playing,” she said of her mother who returned to live in Peru two years ago.
“She has helped make me such a strong person. Every time I have a challenge I am strong with it.”
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This weekend Del Solar’s challenge is to reignite her successful recent partnership with fellow Rio Olympian Taliqua Clancy at the World Tour beach volleyball event at Manly.
The pair are on a five-event winning streak, which included a World Tour event in China.
While their ongoing partnership is still in discussion, del Solar says she dreams of playing both the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics in Tokyo with Clancy.
“I think w heave something special, we have trust and self belief” del Solar said.
“That can take a lot of time. For us it was just there instantly.
“And we are very good mates.”’
Clancy is on the return from a foot injury which ruled her out of a competition last weekend.