Winning an Olympic medal is the dream of every athlete, but for Stefano, it was just the beginning of a lifelong pursuit of excellence. Fresh off his fourth ILCA 7 Central and South American Championship title, the Peruvian sailor reflects on the highs and lows of his career, the invaluable lessons learned from sailing legend Robert Scheidt, and his evolving goals. From struggling under pressure in past Olympics to mastering the mental game in Paris, Stefano’s journey is one of resilience, self-discovery, and strategic reinvention. Now, with an Olympic medal in hand, he looks ahead to new challenges—World Championships, another Olympic cycle, and even a book and YouTube channel to share his story with the world.
Hello Stefano, it’s great to have you with us today. Let’s start with the latest news. You’ve just won your fourth ILCA 7 Central and South American Championship. How was that, and was it easier in your home country?
Well, it’s an honour to win in such a prestigious event, especially with legends like Robert Scheidt, Diego Romero or Julio Alsogaray having won it. However, this year wasn’t the easiest. My first win was also in Peru in 2019, and each edition has been a tough battle. Last year in Chile may have been easier due to favourable light winds, but this year in Paracas was different—strong winds of 17–18 knots made it a highly physical and mental challenge. I had to fight hard against Clemente (Seguel) from Chile, who was eight in Paris, and Pancho (Guaragna) from Argentina, both Olympians, so it was far from easy.
I noticed you had Robert Scheidt as your coach this year. How long have you been working with him? Is it a permanent arrangement or temporary?
I became Robert’s training partner during the pandemic before the Tokyo Olympics, and we’ve kept a nice friendship since. Though Robert has his own coach, we shared coaches and logistics, and we got along really well.
He has been my idol since I was a kid, so racing against him for the first time in 2013 and then partnering with him has been a dream come true. After all, he reinvented the sport by developing new techniques which allowed him to achieve his 5 Olympic medals and 9 ILCA 7 world championships. He’s someone to whom every ILCA sailor looks up to as an example.
He was invited to the Paris Olympics to watch the sailing medal race, and when asked on an interview about the sailors in the medal race, he mentioned that he was cheering for me the most, and that me getting a medal would be so important for my country (Peru had not won any medals in the past 32 years).
I now have the honour to have joined him as the only two sailors from America to have won an Olympic medal in the Men’s One Person Dinghy event. I’m extremely proud and honoured about this.
So will you go on training with him?
Having him as a coach at the South American’s has been extremely helpful and an amazing experience. His approach to sailing is unique in the way he pays attention to detail and explains things from his point of view. We have been a great team.
His coaching however will be temporary as he is a busy man. He will be very helpful in a technical role. I’m very happy about this because I’ve been working with Luis Miguel Camino, my coach for the past three years, and we collaborate really well together. Adding Robert as a technical expert, alongside such experienced coaching team, will be invaluable and significantly improve my chances of medaling at the next Games.
What valuable lessons have you learned from Robert?
I think the most valuable lesson I learned from Robert is his humility—his ability to respect the process, acknowledge other sailors, and learn from everyone, regardless of their level. When he invited me to train with him, he told me it was because I was a great light-wind sailor and he wanted to study my techniques. That showed me how he constantly learns from others, always striving to improve. Even though he might be the best in every condition, he never assumes he is and continuously reinvents himself. That’s what I admire most about him, and it’s the greatest lesson he taught me—perhaps even unconsciously—through his example.
Another invaluable insight he passed on to me is his mental approach to the game. He has a very “killing mentality,” you know? I think I learned that from him because I used to be way too nice to other sailors on the water. He showed me, also by example, how to adopt a more professional and strategic approach to racing.
It’s been almost a year since you won Bronze in Paris. What was that like?
It was a unique, amazing, and incredible experience—truly a once-in-a-lifetime feeling. Especially since it was the first medal for my country in 32 years, the first of the 21st century, the fifth in its history, and the first in sailing. It’s a huge responsibility and an immense honour for me. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like that in my life.
I knew I had worked incredibly hard for it, and I believed I had a good chance of winning. I feel I deserve it after all the effort I’ve put in over the years, how I’ve developed, and the strategic adjustments I made for my campaign. I’ve been doing what’s best for me, with a lot of self-awareness, and it just feels amazing.
You mentioned a sense of responsibility after winning. Can you explain that further?
Yes, because there isn’t much optimism in my country, and being able to give young kids hope—that they can achieve their dreams and that winning an Olympic medal is attainable—feels like a huge responsibility. I’ve become a role model for my society and a spokesperson for sports in my country, which is a great honour. I have to make sure I always carry myself in a way that aligns with what I’ve achieved and stay consistent with that.
In your two previous Olympics, you were around the middle of the fleet. What was the key to your success this time?
In Rio, I was balancing college and sailing, which led to an underprepared and stressful experience. I wasn’t dedicating as much time to the sport as my competitors. I could see the difference with the other sailors I had been on the U21 podium with back in 2014, while they were breaking into the top 15 in world events, I was placing around 30th. But I had another goal in mind: earning my degree.
Tokyo was different—it was during COVID, and I entered ranked third in the world, having finished top five at the last World Cup. My expectations were much higher. I knew I could be in the top 10 because I had already competed in multiple medal races at top events. But mentally, I wasn’t in the right place. I put too much pressure on myself, and ultimately, I fell far from my goal.
After those experiences, I shifted my mindset to focus on personal growth rather than external expectations. I realised that I had never been in full control. I wasn’t sailing for myself—I was sailing for the sailing institutions, my country, my sponsors, my coach, my family. So I knew I would regret stopping without seeing what I was truly capable of. I wanted to push my limits and see how far I could go. That changed everything. I started training and competing differently, making decisions that were best for me, without ego or pride. I told myself, “I have nothing to lose.”
Over the following years, I kept proving it to myself, and I also started working with my current coach, who had a huge positive impact on my mental game. My results became more consistent, with regular top-10 finishes.
Another key shift was in how I structured my campaign. I became much more efficient with training, spending more time at home rather than feeling isolated in Europe. I realised I could do most of my training at home, stay happy and healthy, and then travel only for key events and training blocks. I took full ownership of my campaign, managing my budgets efficiently, assembling and managing my team, and overseeing all other aspects of the campaign. Now, I have a team of about 10 people, including a nutritionist, psychologist, physical trainer, technical coach, and even a secretary to handle logistics, expenses, and documentation. I also manage my sponsorships, media presence, and image deals.
By becoming the CEO of my own Olympic campaign, I made sure everything was in place to maximise my chances of success. It became like my child—I protected it, nurtured it, and knew exactly how much effort had gone into it. I think that level of responsibility and ownership made all the difference.
So, compared to Rio—where I was young and inexperienced—and Tokyo—where I was still developing but not fully mature—Paris was completely different. My approach was, “What do I need to do to make myself comfortable racing at the Olympics?” That mindset shift was the key to finally achieving my goal.
So, was it more of an introspective journey, looking within yourself?
Yes, and with a lot of honesty with myself. I had a secret advisor—my dad. He’s a very smart person who always challenged my thinking, offering different perspectives to make me consider all angles. In the end, I was the one making the decisions, but he helped me analyse different variables and challenges along the way. His input had a really positive impact.
Now you’re starting a new Olympic cycle with a bronze medal hanging around your neck. Do you feel the pressure will be different, for better or worse?
I think I’m a pretty laid-back person, so I don’t feel much pressure. A lot of people remind me that I was considering retiring after Paris, but the one thing that could keep me going happened—I won an Olympic medal. Now, I’m closing sponsorship deals and receiving strong support from the government, so quitting now wouldn’t make much sense. I also still have the energy, strength, and physical ability to continue. I’m young, so it feels natural to keep going.
In a way, winning a medal actually relieves pressure. I’ve already done it—I’ve reached that goal—so I have nothing to lose moving forward. Some people say the country will expect me to win another medal in the next Olympics, but I don’t see it that way. I’m doing this for myself, and I don’t care about external expectations. My goal is to push my limits and enjoy the journey. I know it will be an amazing experience, especially with Robert and my coach by my side.
What about the World championships? What do you think are the main differences between competing in them compared to the Olympics?
I think the culture in my country is such that the World Championship doesn’t carry much weight in the media or even with sports institutes. They’d rather see you win a medal at the Bolivarian Games, which are like a mini Pan American Games—similar to the Mediterranean Games here. Then there are the South American Games, also held every four years, and the Pan American Games, which lead up to the Olympics. These multi-sport events follow the Olympic model, so they get a lot of attention. Even when we were younger, World Championships weren’t really a priority unless they served as Olympic qualifiers.
So for the Worlds, winning them was never my main goal—I saw them more as a learning experience. Even though I’ve finished in the top ten and felt I could have pushed for a top-five finish a few times, I never had that burning desire to win.
Now, that has changed. With an Olympic medal checked off my list, I can start focusing on new goals. Some say winning Worlds is even harder because there are more sailors from the same top sailing nations—like Great Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand—making the fleet deeper and more competitive. The Olympics are a different kind of challenge; it’s a mental game where the margin for error is incredibly small, and the pressure is intense. At Worlds, you need to be consistently at the top across all races.
That’s what we’ll aim for at this next World Championship in China. I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard the conditions are tricky, which I like. So this will be the first Worlds where we’re actually setting our sights on a strong result. We’ll see how it goes.
So we can bet that you’re really going for it this time?
I’m definitely going for it this time. I actually regret not having had this mindset of trying to win Worlds in the past. There’s a World Championship every year, so you’ll have plenty of chances.
Yes, I have several World Championships ahead in the next few years, but opportunities come at different times. Some years might be your year, and some might not. The key is to stay consistently at the top to increase the chances of winning when the right moment comes.
What was the toughest moment of your sailing career so far, and how did you overcome it?
The toughest moment was in 2019 in Lima, when I was one of the favourites to win at the Pan American Games. I was young and inexperienced at the time. I had high expectations going into them but struggled under the pressure, finishing fifth. I wanted to retire after that but bounced back, learning resilience.
Another tough moment was at the start of last year when I got sick. I couldn’t compete in the World Championship in Australia, which was frustrating. But I stayed strong by keeping my goal in mind: the Games. I was the only Olympic sailor who didn’t attend the World Championship in Australia. When I arrived in Palma, still sick, Matt Wearn, the world champion, asked me why I hadn’t gone to Worlds. I told him that my goal was later in the year at the Marseille, and in the end, it turned out to be the right decision.
What challenges do South American sailors face at the top level?
I think the biggest disadvantage is we don’t have the budgets to train at the same level as the sailors from developed countries. What makes it even more challenging is the fact that we’re far from where the key events happen, like Europe, and sometimes even Australia, New Zealand, or Asia. It’s very expensive for us, and our budgets often end up being bigger than theirs, and often our federations don’t have the financial support to cover these costs.
Now, the Peruvian federation has a larger budget because we’ve had some success, but many other countries in the region don’t have that luck, and it remains an ongoing issue. A positive aspect is that the World Championships will be held in Fortaleza, Brazil, in 2027, which will motivate more people in the region to get involved in the sport.
The biggest challenge, though, is the lack of a strong sports culture and legacy. In our countries, the knowledge isn’t passed down through generations, so every new sailor has to start from zero. I’m trying to change that by sharing my knowledge with the youth in my country and region, helping them avoid many of the barriers I faced and enabling them to be more efficient with their time.
At the Central and South American Championship in Peru, for example, we had a talk with Robert Scheidt for all the participants to share knowledge. The following week, I gave a talk during the ILCA session and received a lot of interesting questions and ideas from coaches and sailors. We’re now taking those suggestions into account, and I’m working with my country’s sailing federation to implement them and improve the situation.
And what about the pros? You mentioned Robert Scheidt, and in other classes, there are Santiago Lange, Martine Grael…
Oh, right, sorry. As for the pros, I think we come from countries where we’re very happy and emotional, with a culture that’s very welcoming and full of energy. You see this in a lot of sailors from our region, and it’s similar to what you see in football with Brazilian or Argentinean teams—they really enjoy what they’re doing, and it shows. In sailing, it’s the same. Coaches enjoy watching us because we’re doing things that sailors from other parts of the world aren’t necessarily doing. I think that’s a positive thing; we have this attitude where we really enjoy what we do, and the passion we bring is something hard to find anywhere else. For me, that’s definitely something I have, but I’ve also had to adapt and balance it. Early on, I was too much of a free spirit on the water, but I had to become more disciplined. It’s all about balance, and I think that’s a huge positive.
And I think we’re also very perseverant people. We come from places that have faced many challenges, and we know the realities of our countries. That’s why we’re so thankful for the opportunity to represent our countries in sports. We’re also thankful for how sport has helped us create a better life. We’re strong-minded, and I think that’s another big pro. What’s amazing is how we’re all so friendly with each other. We’re like a family—we get together and go out for dinner not just with sailors from our own country, but from all over South America. We share the same challenges, the same issues, and the same successes, and that creates a strong bond among us.
What advice do you have for young sailors aiming to reach your level? What key lessons have you learned throughout your career?
I think the biggest lesson, which I mentioned earlier, is that you have to do everything for yourself—to prove to yourself what your limits are and what you’re truly capable of. That mindset will allow you to be authentic when you compete and help bring out your full talent and potential.
Another key lesson is understanding that there’s a big process behind reaching something like an Olympic medal or any major goal. You can’t skip steps or take shortcuts to get there. But you can work efficiently to reach it in less time. It’s important to respect the process and not become impatient. A lot of young sailors get anxious and quit too early. They need to give themselves more opportunities and learn from their mistakes. I don’t see failures or bad results as true failures; I see them as opportunities to learn more about yourself.
My last advice would be that there’s no free lunch—you need to work incredibly hard to achieve your goals. And even then, you might not always achieve them because the levels of competition are extremely high. Hard work is always essential.
Can you tell us what you love the most about ILCA sailing?
I think it’s the depth of the fleet and the fact that the boats are so similar to each other, meaning the speed differences are not that significant. We sail so slowly that strategy plays a very important role. If I had to sum up ILCA sailing in one word, it would be strategy. It’s like playing chess on a spinning bike, and that’s actually how I sometimes train—on a spinning bike, imagining I’m playing chess. I think that’s a cool feeling; it’s very similar to what it’s like when you’re actually sailing.
It’s such a complete sport. Physically, it’s very demanding on your body—you need to be okay with pain to sail this class. Then, you have to be strong mentally because anyone in the fleet can beat you at any given time. The spaces are so small that you have to learn to live with discomfort. When you’re racing ILCA, you’re almost always uncomfortable, and that needs to become your natural state—you need to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations.
It’s also really competitive because it’s so accessible. It’s probably the most accessible Olympic class, which is why it has remained in the Olympics for so long and continues to do so—it brings together sailors from many different countries who otherwise might not have had access to the sport of sailing.
That’s true. So, before we finish, is there anything you would like to share with your fans and supporters who have been following your journey, especially those who have been with you through both the highs and the lows of your career?
First of all, I’d like to thank them for their support, which has definitely helped me overcome the tough situations I mentioned earlier. I’m very grateful for that. And the second thing I want to share is that I’m going to keep going. I made that official at the South American Championship, and I think it’s a positive thing for everyone— for the country, for my supporters, and for myself. I just want to thank them again for their support and invite them to continue following me on this journey. I’m also excited to announce that I’ll be launching a YouTube channel soon, where I’ll be sharing different chapters of my life—things I haven’t shown before. People will get to know me better and see what my everyday life looks like.
You mean a sort of backstage?
Yeah, for sure! There will be backstage footage of the competitions and regattas. We’ll see what we end up sharing because there are a lot of fun moments that happen behind the scenes, and of course, there are things we can’t show. But yeah, we’ll definitely give people a glimpse into the life of an Olympic athlete from a developing country. I think everyone will enjoy that—it’ll be fun. I’m also in the process of writing a book, which will be out soon. It’s about my journey and the different lessons I’ve learned as an Olympic athlete while achieving an Olympic medal. And one more thing: I’ve just been accepted into the Wharton School of Business from the University of Pennsylvania, so my latest goal is to graduate with an MBA and then fight for the Gold medal in Los Angeles.
Good! We can see you’re full of projects! Thank you very much for your time.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Interview and cover photo by Agustín Argüelles