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LARA VADLAU IN PORTRAIT:

THE TURBOCHICK

Lara Vadlau is the best that the global youth sailing sport has to offer. Now the 18-year-old has arrived in the next age group and is hungrier than ever for success.

Drop the name "Lara Vadlau" and the term "Wonder Kid" is not far behind. A short look at her success record will reveal why. The Corinthian from Maria Rain, who played with the wind in her early childhood on Lake Wörther with parents Eva Maria and Ernst, who also love sailing, navigated at twelve years old to the Vice World Champion title, making headlines for the first time. Since then success has shot straight up for the enthusiastic hobby football player, who played with the guys from FC Corinthia.

Nowadays Lara rarely chases after the ball, but as a result can call herself a multiple World and European Champion, and most importantly a Youth Olympic Champion. With all this she is today's most successful sailor under 18, and all that with perfect grades. The teenager has very rarely seen her school, BRG Lerchenfeld, from the inside, but her report card is worth showing off. Studying happens on the road, which is a good 200 days a year. The only thing that remains is the Matura, which will be pushed back to fall because of more important things. The Wonder Girl has achieved something that a normal girl would not have - the Qualification for the London Games with a mere forerun of only fifteen months.
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SCRUFFY GENIUS

The parameters for success are talent, drive, the right attitude and parental support. Without the financial backing from home, it would have been dammed hard. The parents have additionally time and again cleared the way of obstacles, even when it was uncomfortable. With that support and most of all because of her efforts in the National Squad of the Sailing Association, Lara has succeeded.

She also has sailing partner Eva Maria Schimak and Spaniard Toni Ripoll, a world-class trainer, on her side. After their Olympic victory at the youth games in Singapur, the future has been rewritten simply because there was nothing left to win in the youth division. As a result, Lara switched boat classes and debuted in March 2011 in Palma de Mallorca in the World Cup. Since then she has finished two World Championships and sailed in the title fights in mid-May in Barcelona, bringing in the National Ticket for Austria and participation at the London games, which has only been granted in the 470er Women's Class to twenty teams from twenty nations.

This is an incredible accomplishment because in this Olympic sailing sport it usually takes four to six years to get established on top. Lara's record speed really can't be explained, especially because the genius Vadlau calls herself messy and chaotic. But this self-definition seems to only count when she feels dry ground under her feet. As soon as Lara is in the boat, she's a different person. She has a plan and follows her goals with no ifs, ands or buts. Should this endless passion someday wane and the time for a new career come, Vadlau wants to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a children's doctor.

However, at the moment the water sports carrier is in focus. London and the Olympic Premier are serving the experience, and in Rio de Janeiro and the Olympic Games 2016 the hunger for success should be satisfied with an Olympic medal - an announcement which seems very plausible due to what's been accomplished so far.
Bild 1 174Lara Vadlau in a Bullet Response:






 
What is your favorite car?
Porsche

What are the five things you would take with you to a deserted island?
Compass, a Leathermen, a boat, a sail and a lifejacket

What is your favorite food?
Scrambled eggs with mashed potatoes and spinach

What would you like to change in the world?
To end race and religious conflicts

What is success for you?
To stay healthy and to do what I already do.

What is failure for you?
If I notice that I didn't try my best

Do you have a tip for all young sailors?
Never give up and especially don't let yourself get down.
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