Digging for gold in French sand

Australia’s Peruvian import tells Senior Correspondent Mike Osborne how she hopes to find Olympic gold buried on a beach in the heart of Paris.

Australia’s Mariafe Artacho del Solar will have two countries cheering for her when she competes on a purpose-built beach at the base of the Eiffel Tower during the Paris Olympics.

The Peruvian-born Artacho del Solar and her towering indigenous team mate Taliqua Clancy plan to finally add a beach volleyball gold medal to their stacked trophy cabinet, which includes an Olympic silver medal from the last Games in Tokyo.

The pair also have silver medals from the past two Commonwealth Games and a world championship bronze.

“We were proud to be on the podium in Tokyo,” Artacho del Solar said. “To take it one step further we just have to trust in ourselves that we have the potential to take it all the way.

“And Paris is one of my favourite cities. It’s so magical. To have the beach volleyball venue right in front of the Eiffel Tower is going to be amazing. I can’t wait.”

It’s been a round-the-world journey to Paris for the girl who grew up in Lima and moved to Australia aged 11 to join her extended family. 

Sport helped develop her limited English and despite being 173cm tall and short for a volleyball player, Artacho del Solar was offered a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport in 2012 when she finished high school.

Four years later aged 23 she competed at the 2016 Rio Games and began an Olympic journey that she hopes will lead to gold in Paris.

One of her secret weapons in Paris along with experience and determination will be the Peruvians cheering her on, just as they did at Rio in 2016. 

“Peru has taken me under its wing,” she said. “I got a lot of attention just being Peruvian-born and playing in Rio at the Olympics. I was able to have all my family there because it was so close to Peru.

“I loved my experience in Rio. Playing beach volleyball in front of fanatic passionate Brazilian fans on Copacabana beach was definitely one to remember.”

Rio was also a steep learning curve for Artacho del Solar who did not win a game in Rio with then partner Nicole Laird.

“Once we got knocked out I watched very closely all the teams through to the medal matches and how they did it,” she said. “It gave me a really good perspective to see the things I had to work on to be at the top of my game.”

With new partner – Taliqua Clancy from Kingaroy in rural Queensland – Tokyo was a very different event.

The Covid pandemic meant no roaring crowds, but the duo shocked the top-ranked Canadians in the quarter finals and beat Latvia to reach the gold medal match where they succumbed to a dominant USA.

“Having experienced one Olympics I was really motivated and knew exactly what I had to do to finish on the podium,” she said. “It was business time for me. I was very focussed. I knew I wanted to win a medal.

“Obviously not having family and friends there meant you couldn’t celebrate with them. But it was a really special time for the Australian team which became really united and I think that’s why we were able to have a lot of success in Tokyo.

“Each Olympics for me has definitely been a really different experience.”

Artacho del Solar believes beach volleyball is an “experience sport” with players reaching their peak from about 30 onwards, the age she will be in Paris, while partner Clancy is a year older. 

“There are a lot of competitive teams in women’s beach volleyball which is great because it means the event will be very open,” she said.

“Sometimes the top teams don’t always make the podium but with our experience, I think we can take this through to Paris. The goal is definitely to play in that final again and bring back gold this time.”

It is that determination to succeed that helped Artacho del Solar overcome inherent height bias as she was making her way to the top of her chosen sport.

“It’s a sport with space for all different heights,” she said. “It’s a beautiful game where you can bring your own flair. And it’s a mental game too, not just about power and height, so there is room for players like me at only 173cm tall.

“Some of the top teams in the world have short defenders. It’s about having balance between you and your teammate. We play a physical game across the whole net, but we’re always trying to find new ways to beat the opposition. If you have the height advantage at the net (Clancy is 189cm/6ft2in) you can have a shorter player at the back.

“It wasn’t easy for me, because back in the day some just looked at the statistics and shook their heads. I’d like to believe I’ve created a legacy, showing there’s more to it than height.”

That’s not the only legacy she wants to leave. Artacho del Solar hopes to emulate Australia’s Sydney 2000 beach volleyball champion Natalie Cook by playing at five Olympic Games. 

After taking bronze at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, Cook and her partner Kerri Ann Pottharst won the gold at Bondi Beach in 2000. Pottharst was 35 in Sydney and retired before the Athens 2004 Games, while Cook, 10 years her junior, went on to play with different partners in Athens, Beijing and London without winning another medal.

“For as long as I can remember I’ve definitely had five Olympics as a goal,” Artacho del Solar said. “My dream is to finish in Brisbane in 2032.

“I’m certainly not ready to hang up the bikinis yet. A little break after Paris is needed following three Olympics back to back. That’s exhausting and demanding. But I would definitely like to play in Los Angeles 2028 and finish in Brisbane.”