Laura Ester (Barcelona, January 22, 1990), one of the best water polo players that Spain has given in its history, sets the appointment for the interview on her holiday. He doesn't even mind having barely slept [he came from playing in Belgrade the World Cup with the national team]. This journalist, accustomed to the complicated schedules of footballers, does not remember anything like this in 20 years. "You have to take advantage", ditches the goalkeeper with a smile that does not end.
Is the smile a breastplate? No [and he laughs]. Many times in the games I also smile, but because I have a good time. Enjoy. I put it this way. I don't think it's a breastplate.Can you say everything you've won? Both with the club and with the national team. Note: six European Cups, three European Super Cups, 11 leagues, as many Queen's Cups... And then with Spain, a gold and two silvers in World Cups; three golds, one silver and one bronze in Europeans; and the two Olympic silver medals. In a minority sport, do you demand even more success and forbid failure even more? We have always been given to understand that if we want to talk about water polo we have to win. We have normalized that, that if we don't win, we don't talk about it. Although a point has come... We've been up there for ten years. And since it's no longer news because we always do something, we still don't talk about ourselves. Yes, you have your half page in the newspaper, but we have just been European champions with Sabadell, also European champions with the Spanish team, and they should talk a minimum about us. But we are not recognized as much as we should.What is missing most is that, recognition? I guess. Nor do we want everyone to congratulate us. But you see other athletes who have won less than us in the same year... It's the boom then. And, fuck, we've won two Europeans in a row. It's a difficult thing. We want people to talk a little more about water polo, to know what our sport is and everything we carry. Maybe if people knew him, he would sell more. Yes, but up to date. Once it's over, this is not like footballers, who can be after all their lives doing nothing. You are invisible until the Olympics. Then, everyone notices. It's funny. Nobody talks about water polo, but when the Games come, ah, we have to win medals for sure. How do they know? It's not pressure, but what's going on? We have it a little assumed, although it does not only happen in water polo. We experienced it at the Tokyo Games, where many athletes took sticks everywhere. That hurts me. I know what you train and what you fight, not to win, but to compete in the Games. A lot of people stay out and don't arrive. Just getting there is a great effort. Everyone goes there to win. And I think people are very critical of those athletes, who are the first ones who don't want to lose. Have you ever felt harassed on social media? The good thing is that in the networks all our followers are quite loyal. Except in specific cases, we do not have haters. Quite the opposite. Win or lose. Although sometimes you do read comments or listen to people who... From the sofa at home you speak very well and you are very comfortable.Do the years of information blackout generate frustration? Yes. We try to vindicate ourselves by achieving successes to force people to talk about us. The other day he won his sixth European Cup with Sabadell and complained about the lack of impact. This time I didn't want to complain, but I saw the comment of my teammate and captain of Sabadell, Maica García, and she was right. He put a tweet with the front pages of the newspapers and none of them showed anything. We were only on the cover of L'Esportiu de Cataluña. And that was a historic match, where two clubs from the same country had come for the first time to play a final of the European Cup. We won the sixth andn 12 years (9-8 against Assolim CN Mataró). I think an effort could have been made.What do you think is the reason for? This summer I wrote a tweet complaining about when we won the European Championship [he told president Pedro Sánchez to congratulate the men's basketball team for qualifying for the quarterfinals, and not say anything about the success of water polo]. First, I criticized the press because they didn't talk about us anywhere. There were many haters there, but I didn't read anything. I was on vacation. And I ask myself: 'Are we not interested because we are not talked about or are we not talked about because we are not interested? Spain is a country of football, football and football. Maybe if the range opened up a little and we started educating to be more multi-sports, maybe people would start to be interested in other sports. It is said that we only talk about football because it is what matters. And maybe it's only interesting because they only talk about that. In recent years, women's football has experienced a media boom. The same has not happened in other sports practiced by women and very successful. Only football seems to exist, but there are more sports. Women's sport is not just football. I insist, in this country it is only football.Is it harder to be ignored or forgotten? [Think...]. I don't know. It's hard. Maybe they will ignore you. If you're not Messi or Cristiano, everyone forgets. And if they ignore you today, obviously they're going to forget you. They're not going to talk about you because they don't know who you are, because they've ignored you. It's worse to be ignored than forgotten. You are fighting and sacrificing many hours of your life, because we like it, yes, and that's why we do it. We trained six, seven hours. But it's hard to be ignored. All the sacrifice we make... That you do this not so that people flatter you, but because you are proud and satisfied. But since you do, from time to time you like to be congratulated. Minority sport and women. It's a bomb. They receive what they generate. What do you think of that classic argument? We don't generate, why? Why don't we sell? Because we are not known or given the opportunity for people to know us. Little by little we are talking about women's sport, we are getting to know each other more, and maybe there are more people interested in it. They've been giving us a little bit: 'Oh, women in Spain are very good. They're winning everything!' Already, but not only now. What happens now is that there is a little more talk. That is why there is more equality in hours of training, in facilities when training ... And with that you get the level to grow much more.What led you to study the Degree in Biochemistry? As I had a lot of time I said to myself, go, one facilitates [ironizes]. I've been between 11 and 12 years to finish it. But I knew I had to study. Water polo gives for what it gives. Once it's over you have to look for your life. I have been fortunate that my sporting life has been very long, and I took the time to study from wherever I could. Without being able to go to class, but between workouts I tried to get notes. You put your nose on it and pray that people are good. It is sacrificed, hard, but in my generation we have all done it like that. The race could not be done in four years. But I already have it. And when I go to work they won't ask me if I finished it in four or ten. Over the years, do the balls hurt less? It is true that we become a little immune. He is not afraid. It hurts more a goal than a ball in the face. Is there a feeling of loneliness in the goalkeeper? Everyone says that lGoalkeepers are different. And you have to be to put yourself in the goal to be burst with balls. Is that clear. But feeling lonely, no. I have always felt protected by my teammates. So what's scary about him? The day after. When this is over. The athlete who says that it is not so, lies. You've spent many years of your life doing something you're good at. And then they kick you out. Here we leave you, in the outside world and outside your bubble. What do they say? They never forced me to do anything. And I've been told there's a life after.
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