At just 23 years of age, Helena Arias stands out as an Olympic archery champion and a brilliant student on three degrees: mechanical engineering, electronics and physics.
Breaking down prejudices in highly masculinised sectors such as science and sport, Helena asserts: “I’m lucky as I like everything I do and that gives me the energy to do be able to do it.”
Talking about how she started out in Olympic archery, she explains that she was introduced to the sport coincidentally at the Fira XD Young Festival, where she came across the stand run by the Catalan Archery Federation. After trying her hand at it, they offered her and her siblings the chance to train for free for three months.
She knows that women role-models are important. “If there are no role-models, there are no girls who see them and then no women doing this.”
Helena is taking part in the Hypatia science project, which is studying getting to Mars with women scientists simulating conditions on the red planet in the Utah desert: “On the Hypatia project we spend two weeks in the Utah desert to simulate being on the red planet, with all the protocols that have to be followed to leave the station.”
Helena affirms she really enjoys her studies and her sport, although on some occasions it is highly demanding, but she highlights the support she receives: “I’ve got a trainer who understands the situation perfectly and they help me a lot at the CAR in Sant Cugat.”
Many Olympic archery professionals combine studies or work as this is a minority sport with little visibility. For her, achieving greater visibility for this sport is vital. “Gaining visibility and offering a real image of archery would help younger people into this sport and make it grow.”
Helena wants to reach the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 and collaborate with future space missions: “At a sporting level, my goal is to reach the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028, and at an academic level, I’d like to collaborate on future space missions.