A group of 16 women who have undergone breast cancer surgery have decided to include rowing in their recovery process. For this, they use the facilities of the Real Club Marítimo Barcelona (RCMB). They are part of Project Nereida, an initiative promoted by professor Sònia Güell that has found collaboration, among others, from Hospital del Mar and the historic Barcelona club.
Being part of the project has zero cost for the women involved. For Albert Díaz, president of the RCMB, it is about helping to obtain social benefits for certain groups, in this case, oncology patients. "Clubs," he maintains, "must go beyond business" and get involved in this type of project.
The program was born in 2024 with the aim of improving and transforming the lives of breast cancer patients. It is also an experience to investigate the impact of rowing on the recovery of women who have undergone this operation. So far, initial data indicate that this sport provides some lymphatic benefits that aid recovery. But there are others. The coordination required in rowing among team members also generates a sense of group, which affects the psychological health of patients. Now, project managers are studying how to expand the group and whether other sports practices also provide benefits to patients with other oncological diseases.
"The Real Club Marítimo Barcelona has recently been recognized as the best in the country in Paralympic rowing"
Project Nereida coincides at the RCMB with another initiative with social implications. The club has recently been recognized as the best in the country in Paralympic rowing, having won three medals in the Spanish Championship held last May in the Alava town of Legutiano. Thus, the RCMB has consolidated itself as the best club in adapted rowing and in mixed sport, in its Paralympic category.
This success is due to the incorporation in recent years of three athletes, precisely the three medalists in Legutiano. These are Josefa Benítez and Mario Serrano, who won gold and silver medals, respectively. This category, called 2x PR3, refers to a boat with two rowers designed for athletes whose physical disability does not affect their arms, trunk, and legs.
Benítez is visually impaired and Serrano lost a leg in an accident. The regulations indicate that they must form a team with a non-paralympic athlete of the opposite sex. Benítez's partner is Albert Díaz, president of the club, and Serrano's partner is Ainhoa Masana, rowing captain of the club. The involvement of both in paralympic competition, holding positions of responsibility in the club, is proof of the entity's commitment to the development of paralympic rowing.
The third medalist —in this case bronze— in the Spanish Championship was Marc Vilà. This athlete, with some physical and visual impairments, competes in the 1x PR3 category, designed for athletes who, despite their limitations, can do so individually.
The paralympic rowing section at the RCMB began in 2021, precisely when Josefa Benítez joined the club. She came from practicing cycling, a sport in which she had participated in the London Games. For the Tokyo Games, she already competed in rowing.
For the president of the entity, the two initiatives are like a return to the club's beginnings. It was founded in 1902 as Real Club Barcelona, when the Real Club de Regatas, mainly dedicated to rowing for 20 years, and the Real Yacht Club, which dealt with sailing, merged. In 1909, a split occurred from which the neighboring Real Club Náutico de Barcelona emerged. The Club de Regatas then acquired the name of Real Club Marítimo.
Albert Díaz points out that rowing is a sport with deep roots in Catalonia. Its origin is said to date back to the fish trade, when sellers competed oar in hand to be the first to reach the fishermen's market. Today, those old races have evolved and the competition has reached the paralympic category and to overcome breast cancer.