OLYMPIC synchronised swimmer Ona Carbonell has shown she has another string to her bow – that of a catwalk model at the prestigious international 080 Barcelona Fashion Week.
She showcased designs by national creator Antonio Miró in a surprise appearance which she said she had been 'very much looking forward to' as it was 'a different challenge' to her usual type.
But Ona, 27, was less worried about being on display to the world's fashion media and design houses, since she is 'very used to the spotlight' given that she has starred in adverts as part of her career as a synchronised swimmer.
“I'm normally more nervous before a world championship or Olympic final,” she admitted.
“I'm a sportswoman, and I'm not trying to be anything else.”
Together with Andrea Fuentes, she won the pairs silver at the London 2012 Olympics, and the team bronze.
Her most recent gold medals were in the same year at the European Championships, both in the pairs and team competitions, and last year she netted two silver medals at the world championships in the singles technical and singles freestyle categories.
Currently, Barcelona-born Ona is managing to combine being captain of the Spanish synchronised swimming team with her university degree – she is a fashion design student – and is expecting to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, for which she will start training next year.
And as well as being relevant to her studies, modelling for Antonio Miró at 080 Barcelona was partly a bid to 'get out of her comfort zone'.
Ona says she knows the Antonio Miró fashion house well, and has known people who work there 'for many years', which led to her floating the idea of modelling for them and which they immediately jumped on.
The suit she presented on the catwalk, in charcoal-grey wool with petrol-blue pockets and a thin black belt to accentuate the jacket's nipped-in waist, is 'very much her style', Ona says, and she likes the brand because it is 'elegant but comfortable'.
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