Melita & Antonia Abraham (CHI)

Rising Stars – November 2015

Melita and Antonia Abraham are sisters. They have the same date of birth. But no, they are not twins. Two brothers also share their date of birth. The quadruplets from Chile are 18 years old. All four of them row. All four have been on the Chilean national team. Melita and Antonia are world medallists.

Melita and Antonia row together in the women’s pair while their brothers Alfredo and Ignacio have rowed in the men’s double and quadruple sculls. The sisters won silver at the World Rowing Junior Championships this year in Rio de Janeiro.

World Rowing got to know a little bit more about these up-and-coming South American rowing athletes and what it is like when all siblings in one family are rowing enthusiasts.

We discovered rowing… because a friend of my brother’s invited him and because we do everything together. We all went (to rowing) and continued on.

What we most like about rowing… is that it is a very complete sport. It requires consistency, discipline and responsibility. Rowing makes it clear that without hard work there are no results.

The rowers we most admire at the moment… Kim Crow (Australia) because she was the only woman to obtain two medals at the 2012 Olympic Games. We also admire Zoe McBride (New Zealand) because she is a perfect example for us. At her young age she already has a World Best Time and a world title. We hope to be like them.

Being in a family where all four siblings row is… something we are very proud of because together we have accomplished so many things and sharing the same dream unites us and give us strength. We all dream about the Olympic Games.

What we like to do most as quadruplets… when we have free time (which is very seldom), is to go to our farm and go horseback riding. We also love spending time with our friends that in general are the same!

We study… this year we finish high school and our plans for the future are to try to combine university with training.

What we most like about travelling to compete in rowing… is learning about all the different cultures and be part of the amazing environment that all those events create!

Our favourite venue so far… is Lucerne (Switzerland) because it’s beautiful and has the perfect rowing conditions.

Our most memorable race so far… the final at the World Rowing Junior Championships in Rio this year. The first two races were not good, but we were able to change the switch and really focus.

We train… 24 to 38 hours per week.

One thing that not many people know about us… is that we are in the same class and we help each other in everything. We help them (our brothers) in history and they help us in mathematics. It’s such a big help when we are very tired.

Our non-rowing friends think that rowing is… a very demanding sport and always ask us how we wake up so early to train. They think we are crazy!

What we are most excited about the Olympic Games being held in South America next year… because Rio is a beautiful city and we love the idea that not everything is concentrated in other continents. 

The best thing in life right now… is that we are following our dreams and doing what we love thanks to our coach Bienvenido Front and our amazing family.

In 10 years’ time, we imagine the sport of rowing to be… more popular and known and that each year more people will want to row. In ten years we wish that all the races will be transmitted on TV and people will look at them the same way they look at soccer.