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At only 19 years old, she is Olympic silver medallist, bronze medallist at the last European Championship and number one in the Olympic ranking. Adriana Cerezo lives up to the ‘Nina Maravilla’ (Wonder Girl) nickname given to her after winning the silver medal in Taekwondo (<49 kg) in Tokyo 2020. As she’s part of the HSN Team and visited our facilities, we took the opportunity to chat with her…
You’re just back from the World Championships in Guadalajara (Mexico), how did it go?
The World Championships was the big goal of the year. It’s hugely important and we were focussing everything on it. It didn’t go as expected, mainly because the performance could have been better, but we’re lucky in that we’re always in season and still have other important championships on the way. In December, we have the Grand Prix Final, which involves even more points for rankings ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris. Right now, we have to think about what’s coming next and keep up the momentum, we can’t stop at a mistake like that.
You’ll end the season with a total of 9 medals, including European bronze and a number 1 Olympic ranking…
Generally, we don’t review anything until the end of the year. What I mean is that we don’t really take the time to track what we’ve achieved so far, we just keep going and going, building momentum, feeling good. It’s been a great year. I’ve made my debut in lots of competitions that I hadn’t competed in before the Olympics due to not making the category: the Grand Prix, the World and European Championships. I’m very happy with the results so far. We’re doing a great job and I hope that it’ll also be reflected in everything that’s to come, as it’s a very long process.
Looking back, what do you remember about your Olympic medal in Tokyo?
A lot of mixed feelings. As I always say, I lived the best and worst day of my life at the Olympics, everything came together. When you win in a semifinal and get a medal, you know you’ve fulfilled a dream. Going to the Olympics is already a dream come true, and going on to win a medal just takes it to another level, but getting so close to the gold, every athlete’s dream, and then missing out, it hurts a lot, especially knowing how close I was. Obviously I’m very happy and thankful for what I’ve achieved, but it doesn’t take the pain away, you just have to use it as motivation for the next Olympics.
What changes have you noticed this season after your Silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics?
It changed a lot in the sense that you get a lot of points with the Olympics. I’ve been able to enter other competitions that I couldn’t before, and that I thought would take me much longer to access. And now that I’ve positioned myself at that level, I’m incredibly happy. At the end of the day, you’re playing at the highest level every day, with the best, and to be there and to be able to fulfil a dream is a beautiful thing.
What are your next sporting goals?
We’ve had a lot of trouble with the calendar, the World Championships have been quite chaotic, as they were supposed to be held last year. We have World and European Championship every two years, and they’re interspersed. But this year we had them all: European, World, Grand Prix… Now, a month later, we have the Grand Prix Final, which is to fight in the top 16. It’s all come together for us and we’re going to try to have the best possible preparation for next year’s World Championship, where we’re going for everything.
And the Paris 2024 Olympics…
The main thing right now is to qualify, and for that the World Championships is key, and the Grand Prix can provide a lot of points for the Olympic ranking, which is fundamental. Performing well and getting the results we want will help us qualify for the Olympics. Hopefully we’ll get there, and if we are there, we’ll go for everything, to fulfil that dream we came so close to achieving last time.
How do you combine the life of an elite athlete with that of a university student? Is it hard to combine studies, training, rest?
This last semester has been crazy because everything has been concentrated, with the Grand Prix, the World Championship… and that entails preparation and concentration. I need to get back to my routine now, get back to my day-to-day life, and go back to university. But the truth is that I’m very happy. I’m studying Forensic Science, I’ve taken all the subjects, and I try to cover everything. I think that if you dedicate time to it, in the end it’s about getting into your routine, which is what I need to get back into now, but it’s perfectly possible.
Adriana Cerezo, Olympic silver medallist in Taekwondo.
Sundays are for rest, at a sports level. From Monday to Saturday I train every day. On Saturday, I train in the morning and afternoon, and there are two or three days a week that I try to train in the morning because of university commitments. I do my daily sessions in the afternoon, plus the three or four that I do in the mornings. Every day I get up at 7:30 or 8, I go to class, if I have to train I go to training, study and then sleep.
Let’s talk about nutrition. What HSN supplements do you use for your preparation and recovery?
A bit of everything, because everything is important, but bars are an absolute must for me. The Paleo Bars are essential for my routine, I use them a lot and the Evobars from time to time too, because I’m often travelling in the car, or on a plane, and they’re incredibly convenient. Then, during training, I also use Evotonic, and Evocarbs for recovery too. I also want to try a lot of products that have been recommended to me, especially for recovery, protein shakes or very simple but necessary things.
And for the competitions , would you add anything different to the previous ones?
In terms of products, no, I try to keep with everything I’ve been trying out during training because we have a continuous season, we don’t have peaks of form like there are in other sports. Most recently, however, I started using Beta Alanine about 30 or 40 days before a major championship. I hadn’t tried it before, and honestly the results have been pretty good.
And as for the EssentialSeries and FoodSeries lines. How have they helped? What products have you tried?
I’ve tried quite a few products, but I have a lot left to try too. There’s such a variety of products that it’s difficult to try them all. I love the Chocolate Almonds, I’m obsessed with them; and I really like Rice Cream, I use it a lot to make ice creams, Casein too. I make them with milk, put them in the freezer, and pretend it’s ice cream.
What’s next on your list for trying?
I’ve been recommended Protein Pudding, and for training level I’ve been recommended Evorecovery too, to help recover after sessions.
What’s your favourite HSN product and flavour?
My favourite is the Chocolate Almonds, but the one I use the most is Evotonic Blue Raspberry.
If you could ask our R&D&I team to create a product/flavour, what would it be?
As I use Evotonic every day in training, I would love a strawberry flavour version. I really like the cola and blue raspberry flavours, but I would like to try out the strawberry.
What surprised you most about your visit to the HSN factory and facilities?
I was surprised by the size of the company, it’s huge. I wasn’t expecting something so big, so large, I was expecting something much smaller. Everything is automated and there are a lot of people working. I thought it was going to be smaller, but I soon realised just how huge it is, and that surprised me in a good way.
Adriana Cerezo at the HSN facilities.
Thank you very much for your visit and good luck with your next goals
Thank you. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank HSN for being an important pillar on this path, for accompanying me in this process of fulfilling my dream of winning an Olympic Gold. And also for giving me the opportunity to learn about everything, to become part of the family, to put a face to it, and to enjoy it too. So, thank you very much.
Be sure to read more related HSN content:
- Nico Molina, a champion in the HSN family.
- HSN & Granada FC renew their partnership.
- IFS Food, safety and quality for the HSN factory.
