Franciely Chiles discovered
orienteering a decade ago, and hasn’t stopped since then. Today, at
the age of 24, she is a successful orienteer in her country, current
South American Champion in Middle and Sprint distances and with two
Brazilian Championships titles in the last three years. Despite this,
she is aware of her limitations and doesn’t hide her great dream:
“One day, to be able to compete at the same level as European
athletes.”
Name:
Franciely Chiles
Country:
Brazil
Date of Birth:
26th February 1992
Place of Birth:
Santana do Livramento
Work:
Brazilian Air Force, 3rd Sergeant
Hobbies:
drinking cimarrón (a traditional beverage taken from the gauchos or
vaqueros), spending time with with her fiancé, family, friends and
pets, listening to music, watching movies and eating
candy
Discipline:
Foot Orienteering
Club:
COSM – Clube de Orientação de Santa Maria
Career
Highlights: Brazilian Champion in 2014
and 2016; South American Champion in 2014 (Middle Distance) and in
2016 (Sprint and Middle Distance); silver medallist in South American
Championships in 2015 (Sprint) and in 2016 (Long Distance)
IOF
World Ranking: 197th
Franciely de Siqueira Chiles was born
on 26 February 1992, in the city of Santana do Livramento in the
southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul. She was born in the
peak of the summer and in the Carnival season, in a time of “batuque”
and “pandeiro”. Maybe that’s why she’s such a special,
communicative person who loves to laugh. But she is also a determined
woman who likes simple things, and who can stay indifferent when it’s
a matter of helping those in need. Today, at the age of 24 and with a
degree in Public Management from the Federal University of Pampa, she
is a 3rd Sergeant in the Brazilian Air Force, connected with the
Armed Forces High Performance Athlete Program.
But let’s go back to 2006, a time
when the Brazilian Orienteering Confederation was just 6 years old.
Practically unknown in most of Brazil, Orienteering has always had
one of its most active roots in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The
Confederation’s headquarters were located there for fifteen years,
and cities such as Santa Maria or Porto Alegre were regular venues
for important events. “Disseminating the Sport” was a major
slogan, and Orienteering was reaching into schools. It was there that
Franciely had her first contact with the sport in the classes of
Dejair Barreto, a lover of Orienteering and mentor of a project in
Escola Agrícola of Santana do Livramento. “It was fascinating,
despite being quite complicated at first; I didn’t know anything
about Orienteering and I had never heard of it, but my interest grew
as I learnt more about the sport,” she recalls.
A wise decision
Orienteering is a demanding sport and
Franciely knows it: “In the first training sessions, everything was
difficult. Memorising the symbols, understanding the signs, knowing
how to read the map and having notions of distance were aspects that
I took a while to understand.” In this adaptive process there was
an element that turned out to be more complicated than any other.
Franciely recalls: “It took me a long time to understand the
contour lines and what they represented on the terrain.” Her first
races with map and compass were in the Gaúcho League, and her first
experience wasn’t much different from that of many other young
orienteers: “I remember being very nervous at the beginning of the
course and I ended up getting lost; it took me a long time to finish
the race but I didn’t give up,” she says.
Gradually, Franciely imposed herself on
the competitive Gaúcho League and the results appeared naturally. It
was at this point that the great decision was taken: “To see the
satisfaction and pride in my mother’s face, her eyes gleaming with
joy when I showed her my first medal: it was one of the happiest
moments of my life. I was sure then that Orienteering was what I
wanted to do with my life,” she says. And it seems that she wasn’t
mistaken, otherwise we wouldn’t see her today, so committed to the
sport, Orienteering being the subject of all conversations.
“Friends are
the most important”
– How do you
evaluate your evolution in Orienteering?
“I know that I
have been able to get better, but I also know that I have a lot to
improve. Each race is an opportunity to learn.”
– What
qualities do you recognise in yourself as an orienteer? What are your
weaknesses?
“The ability to
focus on the race and being good at reading maps are my greatest
qualities. My weaknesses and where I have to improve are interpreting
the contours in very detailed terrain and finding the best routes on
the long legs.”
– What is the
best advice you have been given so far?
“Like any
orienteer, I have had some really important advice. But the advice I
bear in mind the most is what my fiancé, Cleber Baratto Vidal, gave
me at the end of a frustrating course: “Although we keep them in
our memory, victories and defeats are transient. Friends are the most
important.”
Course of the Year 2016
The fact that Brazil is a huge country
– it’s the fifth largest country in the world – makes national
competitions very different from each other, not only in terms of
vegetation and terrain, but also in climate conditions. Aware of this
reality, Franciely has no doubt in saying that it is in the South
where the best conditions for competition are found. And she explains
why: “In addition to pleasanter weather, the areas are more
interesting and detailed here.” From her point of view “this is
the region most similar to Europe.”
Although her preference is the South,
Franciely focuses her attention on a different region in choosing her
Course of the Year 2016: “This year I ran several courses that I
loved. But what stood out for me was the Long Distance stage of the
third and final round of the Brazilian Orienteering Championships,
held in Brasilia, in the Federal District. It was a really
challenging course, with lots of detailed vegetation and high
temperatures. I knew I would have to raise my focus to the maximum
and take the best options and, despite some small mistakes, I managed
to control myself,” she says.
Training and support
Franciely runs with a map whenever
possible, but her main target is to enhance her physical shape. The
athlete has always liked to run, but it was only in 2013 that she
started to take training seriously, doing it in a regular and
consistent way. This new attitude towards training and competition
coincided with her entry into COSM – Clube de Orientação de Santa
Maria – the first Orienteering club to be founded in Brazil 25
years ago – and Franciely speaks proudly of her club: “The club
shows concern for the athletes and seeks to support them with
training and with incentives to enter events. It is also the club
with the most Elite athletes, thanks to a series of good Presidents,
not least the current one, Vitor Ribeiro Dias.”
In addition to the club’s support,
Franciely is supported by Loja Orientista, and she is part of the
Armed Forces High Performance Athlete Program, without which it would
be very difficult to continue to compete: “This is where I find the
support of dedicated professionals: the Nutritionist, the
Physiotherapist, the Psychologist. It’s also an incentive for the
growth of Orienteering, as many athletes dedicate themselves and
train hard, dreaming of the possibility of entering the Program. From
my viewpoint, the evolution of Orienteering over the years owes a lot
to this program,” she says.
Achievements
Repeating the achievement of 2014,
Franciely has become Brazilian Orienteering Champion again this
season. This is a title that the athlete considers to be “the
result of great dedication and training, both physical and
technical.” She also says that “the title was strongly contested,
especially by Letícia Saltori, and it was only decided on the last
stage.” In fact, it was not only in the Women’s Elite that the
fight kept alive throughout the Championships. Also in the Men’s
Elite there was a battle going on until the end, and this
competitiveness fills the athlete with satisfaction: “I believe
this competitiveness will help our country to get better results,”
she predicts.
Two other highlights of the season took
place in Chile and Brazil, where the South American Orienteering
Championship and the CISM World Military Orienteering Championships
respectively took place. Two major events, with very different
vegetation and weather, something that Franciely clearly values: “It
was great to be able to participate in both events. Chile organised
an international event for the first time, and in the World Military
Championships it was possible to race alongside the best in the
world,” Franciely says. And she adds: “I knew I would find it
difficult, but I did my best and I’m very proud of my
performances.” It is in fact in Valparaiso, Chile, that Franciely
places the happiest moment of her Orienteering career so far: “I
ran calmly and I had an almost perfect race,” she says.
Orienteering in Brazil
Looking at the state of Brazilian
Orienteering, where the impact of a little peaceful change in its
governing body has been overcome, Franciely says: “The Brazilian
Orienteering Confederation is doing a good job, looking for a way to
better support the athletes. The Technical Commission is composed of
former Elite athletes who have already competed in Europe, so our
sport is improving even more with their expertise,” she says.
Franciely adds that “the great difficulties are inevitably
financial, and many young orienteers don’t have any support.”
The fact that Orienteering is
little-known in Brazil, with just a few events being broadcast,
doesn’t help in attracting potential sponsors. But Franciely sees
in each adversity a challenge to overcome, and knows that Brazil
won’t give up, even in its role in Regional development: “Brazil’s
role is very important, mainly because it’s an Orienteering pioneer
in South America. We have given and will continue to give South
American countries our support in running competitions, mapmaking and
training,” she says.
Daniel Hubmann and Simone Niggli the
greatest influences
Speaking of her big role models,
Franciely Chiles doesn’t hesitate in naming Daniel Hubmann and
Simone Niggli. She bases her admiration for these two Orienteering
stars in “their ability to recover and their determination”.
Franciely explains: “Daniel went through injury and yet returned at
the highest level, and Simone after pregnancy was soon running and,
more impressive still, winning everything there was to be won.”
– In recent
times, what news has caught your attention the most?
“It was, of
course, the news that the Brazilian Orienteering Confederation is
trying to attract support to present their application for the
organisation of the World Orienteering Championships in 2021. Being
able to organize WOC 2021 would be great for Brazil, especially
because of the media impact, enabling us to attract new people and
contribute to the growth of the sport in our country. The
Confederation elected the South region of Brazil to carry out WOC
and, as I said before, this is the best region for the practice of
Orienteering. The European athletes can stay calm, because I know
there will be plenty of dedication and professionalism in the
organising team.”
Thinking of 2017
Thinking about the season that is
starting now, Franciely speaks of a year full of great events. “For
the next season I intend to present myself in the best physical shape
ever. I’m planning to participate in the Brazilian Orienteering
Championships and in The World Games, and I hope to be able to
qualify for the CISM – Military World Championships in Finland,”
she says.
– Imagine that
you had entered a six-month programme to prepare for the World
Championships in a country of your choice. Where would you go, and
who would you like to see in your training group?
“I would like to
go to Sweden. I think the maps are perfect, very technical, very
difficult. I wish I could take Cleber with me because he’s a
precious help in training, always supporting me and helping me to
improve. As for the training group, I would like to count on Simone
Niggli; she is an inspiration to me, and it would be the opportunity
to meet her in person.”
Franciely leaves some advice to all
young orienteers that are starting out now: “We all have difficult
times but we must never give up. Always believe in yourself and in
your ability to turn your dreams into reality. Prevail, insist and
never give up.” Finally, she shares her greatest wish, that “one
day I am able to compete at the same level as the European athletes,”
she concludes.
Text: Joaquim Margarido
Photo: SO BFT Armando
