Swimming against the current: how art saved a prodigy

DW (English)

When Géssica Stagno's promising swimming career ended, depression almost drowned her. But she found salvation in painting. Warning: themes of suicidal ideation.

Transcript

00:00Almost a decade ago, Jessica Castanho was Mozambique's great swimming prodigy

00:05and ready to take on the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

00:11I started swimming when I was two years old.

00:16And when I was seven, I started competing to represent my country.

00:22So from the age of 25, it was practically my life, the love of my life.

00:31Jessica Castanho won several titles and set important individual records in Mozambique.

00:38She had always been a very hard-working athlete, very persistent.

00:42She gave a lot for the country, for swimming, for the sport in the country.

00:48But Jessica's Olympic dream fell agonizingly short.

00:52In qualifying, just four seconds separated her from lining up with swimming's biggest stars in Rio.

00:58The disappointment was crushing.

01:07Well, I had support on the one hand, but it wasn't enough.

01:16It demotivated me and with the loss of my coach, Federico dos Santos, I went into depression.

01:23And I didn't know what to do, because I was only a few seconds away from the Olympic minimum qualifying time.

01:41But Jessica's story is not one of crushed dreams.

01:44In fact, it's about the incredible turnaround of a talented athlete,

01:48finding a career beyond the pool and art saving a life.

01:56Welcome to my studio.

02:01Now it's hard to imagine that Jessica once experienced suicidal thoughts after falling into a depression.

02:12I was in a very, very bad space.

02:15I attempted suicide during my depression.

02:18So art was really important for my rebirth.

02:25Today, she paints on various surfaces, such as canvases, fabrics, walls, murals and even human bodies.

02:34That's what she lives for.

02:37This is my friend Zamira.

02:39She's a dancer and she's going to be my body painting model for a performance she's going to do soon.

02:49Art completes me, makes me more alive and frees me to be who I am.

02:55So I already live from art. It's really not every artist who has this opportunity.

03:03But I think that as a woman artist, we're gaining more space to be able to make a living from art.

03:10As for swimming, it's never gave up on her.

03:14Jessica returns to the pool in 2022 as a coach.

03:19Jessica Astanion's own race to move on from despair and heartbreak is one.

03:25And guiding the next generation of Mozambicans through the stress of competitive swimming is her new target.

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