Although Elena Moraga Groeh had never been passionate about sailing, her work as a physiotherapist expert in Osteopathy led her to embark on one of the most beautiful work experiences of her life: participating as part of the health team of the Swiss Sailing Team in the Paris Olympic Games, last July.
Originally from the Catalan municipality of El Masnou (Barcelona), Moraga has lived in Lanzarote since February 2019, where she moved for love. "I love Lanzarote because I have always loved the sea, I love the island, with the energy it has, the Canarians who are very proud of their land and also take great care of it and love their traditions, their festivals and their food," she begins in an interview with La Voz.
Since arriving on the island, Moraga has collaborated with the Lanzarote Institute of Advanced Physiotherapy (IFAL), based in Arrecife, and combines her work at IFAL with therapeutic treatment for sailors from different countries who come to train in Lanzarote and prepare for different competitions. This is no coincidence, since 76% of the Olympic medalists in sailing trained in winter in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, according to data provided by the Canary Islands Sailing Federation a month ago.
That's how Moraga came across the sailors of the Swiss Sailing Team, who also prepare during the winter in Playa Blanca. "They come from the end of October until March," she explains in an interview with La Voz. For six months, her working day takes place between Arrecife and Playa Blanca, where she goes to the locations chosen by the Swiss sailors and also from other countries.
Of the advantages of Lanzarote, she highlights "enjoying the good climate all year round" and "that feeling of seclusion, of calm, of light" that "fills her with peace." The way of life on the island helps her combine her working day with moments of "relaxation, enjoying life."
In her practice, Moraga works "in a very global way," treating people of various ages, from babies to adults. In her role with athletes, she performs more osteopathic work, while she transfers injuries from sports traumas to her colleagues at IFAL. "It is more of a general balance of muscle chains, of regulating tensions in the body." For example, she explains that the postures that sailors must maintain for many hours are very demanding, "so I always give them a tune-up, a check-up, a reset," she explains.
Playa Blanca, a strategic point for sailing
Moraga began working with athletes on the recommendation of an osteopath friend from Barcelona. From there, she began to treat sailors from the Spanish National Team and, then, more and more German athletes. The following year, when the coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled for 2020, many sailors traveled to Playa Blanca to continue training.
"As they end up competing with each other, they want to train a lot together and that's how Playa Blanca positioned itself very well," explains the physiotherapist expert in Osteopathy. "There was a long period of pause in regattas, there is wind, it is an accessible, quiet place, they love it and as many do cycling and the roads are super favorable for it, they love it," she adds.
The coronavirus led the Swiss team to require Elena Moraga's work "more exclusively" since 2020. Since then, for six months she travels three times a week to Playa Blanca to attend to the athletes. "We are a team of physios, in the end there are other colleagues who also travel in winter to treat them because there is a lot of demand and then from year to year they are already calling me," she explains.
Currently, she works with between three and four athletes. It is not the first time that Moraga has traveled with the Swiss National Team, she already did so in 2021. Then she traveled to Portugal, where the team participated in two different regattas. She was also hired in July 2023 to attend the Olympics test, the test prior to the Olympic Games, which took place in Marseille.
The Swiss sailing team achieved the qualification of seven sailors. Although they did not finally obtain any medals, all the athletes reached the final and obtained an Olympic diploma, in the competition that was held in Marseille (France). "They are super happy with the result. The truth is that I have returned very excited and proud, in the end it is also something unique," she continues.
The physio confesses that this trip "has been wonderful, super gratifying. On the one hand, on a human level for working in a team with such logistics, with a lot of human quality. They have pampered me a lot, they are very professional." She also highlights the value of "working with these healthy people, who have a very clear objective in life and have a lot of perseverance, a lot of commitment, of overcoming and all those values."
Moraga explains that she "is left with the human side" when working with these professionals because "in the end, those values also rub off on you and motivate you." To which she adds, the value of "vibrating with the emotion of the regatta." Thus, she adds the importance of "honoring the effort of four years of work, of a passion, of friendship and support."
"The flag in the end is made by the people, being Spanish I would have liked to work with the Spanish team, but I have a lot of affection for them and for me at that moment it is as if I were Swiss," Moraga confesses. "It is a human relationship that leads us to feel and I am left with how at a given moment some words or being about to win a medal make you vibrate, get excited or cry. You feel very alive."
