Passport to Tokyo. A total of 135 Spanish Paralympic athletes (122 with disabilities, plus 13 support) have already prepared to participate in the next Games, which will be held between August 24 and September 5. This Wednesday the president of the Higher Sports Council, José Manuel Franco, and the Spanish Paralympic Committee, Miguel Carballeda, announced the list of those selected to represent our country in this great event. The event was attended by the standard bearers Ricardo Ten and Michelle Alonso, the Spanish athlete with the most medals in the Games and the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports Teresa Perales, the pair of athletes Gerard Descarega and Guillermo Rojo and Sara Revuelta, representing the two teams wheelchair basketball.
Wheelchair basketball and swimming will be the sports with the largest Spanish representation (24 each), followed by athletics (20), cycling (10), soccer-5 and table tennis (8), triathlon (7), canoeing and rowing (5), wheelchair tennis (4), judo (3), weightlifting (2), taekwondo, shooting and archery ( 1). In addition, Susana Rodríguez, recent cover of TIME magazine, will make history by competing in Tokyo in two different disciplines, such as athletics and triathlon. “Canoeing, triathlon and rowing greatly increase their participation compared to Rio,” explained Alberto Jofre, director of the Spanish Paralympic Committee, who confirmed that the expedition will be made up of 221 people. Of these, 135 will be athletes and 86 more members, including coaches, doctors, physios … “33% will be women and 67% men, we have to work on that. From the 28 in Rio we went to 40 women, but no we are happy with that figure, we want more. The overall median age has risen from 32 in London and Rio to 34 years. And 45% of athletes participate in the Games for the first time, so there is a generational change. 70% of athletes arrive as beneficiaries of the ADOP Plan. Madrid and Barcelona contribute 23 athletes, Galicia follows with 16 “, informed Jofre, who added:” These are going to be the first Games financed by the CSD, CPE and Plan ADOP “.
Susana Gaitán, deputy general director of the Committee, also announced a novelty: “We will launch the Paralympic House of Spain and it will be the meeting place between the sponsors, the families of the athletes and the authorities. Nobody here will stop us from cheering. We will bring Tokyo to Madrid, it will be set in the Japanese city and the events can be followed. “Then, it was the athletes’ turn.” We want to strike the bell and surprise with a diploma, although we are not going to give up the medals. The boys, for their part, are going to fight for gold, “said Sara Revuelta, representative of the chair basketball teams.
The role of support athletes will also be very important. “Guides are a fundamental part of Paralympic sport. Their role is not to train me or pull me, but to accompany me. That the athlete can give his highest level. Guille is my eyes. We are a team and we win and lose together. We aspire to revalidate the title “, analyzed the athlete Gerard Download, to which Guillermo Rojo, his guide, added: “In the end a friendship is created because we spend a lot of time together. Gerard runs so much that he needs a guide who runs a lot and in my case it has been one of the best decisions I have made in my life. lifetime. We deserve to dream and go for it all, after everything we’ve been through. We aspire that when we reach the goal we feel that we have given everything “.
Michelle Alonso joined the meeting by videoconference: “It is a pride that I was chosen as a flag bearer along with Ricardo. We hope to get many medals like in Rio. Good luck and see you in Tokyo. “The swimmer will accompany the cyclist Ricardo Ten, that after his successful career in the pool now shines on the bicycle: “It is a great pride to represent my country and my colleagues. They are my sixth Games. I really want to get the work we have been doing. It is a very special date. He had always participated in swimming and they are the first in cycling. We will be in a satellite Villa. We have more possibilities on the track and we are working with it. We come from a constant evolution since I changed disciplines. We know that there are always surprises. In swimming you can have more tied, but here falls or punctures are uncontrollable “.
Teresa Perales, winner of the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, with his arm in a sling, he spoke. “The injury has been with me since May 17. It is a date that I will not forget, I had a shoulder dislocation. It came at a very bad time. I will not make a full recovery for the Games. I am fighting and I combine rehab with training. The idea is to compete as well as possible, knowing that I cannot compete for medals. I will keep fighting and giving everything. I don’t know if I will reach a final, but I will not give up. That characterizes us Paralympians, that we plant in the face of adversity. Another reason that moves me to go is that if I don’t go, my place remains vacant, “wielded the swimmer.
For its part, Miguel Carballeda launched a message of hope and optimism. “Equal opportunities. I was remembering now that, when the wrong things came and the slope got upwards, our grandparents told us, ‘in bad weather, good face’. And in our case, a lot of enthusiasm and ability to overcome We are going to win for our country, to go up to the podium and listen to our hymn, so that some tears fall and those who are alone watching us from home also shed them. What we have achieved improves our business card. In recent times we have heard the representatives of the Administrations saying that no one is left behind. And this house does it and I want to thank it. May we have the same recognition as the work, effort or medal as the Olympians. Life for a person with a disability is more expensive. Teresa has achieved something very important for her and for the world of disability, to be recognized. I had the illusion of surpassing Phelps, maybe it will happen one day, she is Spanish, a mother, in a wheelchair and the Spanish athlete with the most medals in the Games. Thank you and good luck to the athletes, to the members of this team, to this house … I am very proud of the Spanish Paralympic team. Equal opportunities “, insisted the president of the Spanish Paralympic Committee.
The event was closed by the president of the Higher Sports Council, José Manuel Franco. “This is your home, sports in general and Paralympic sports. You will always have the doors open for everything you need. I am fully aware of the example of courage, improvement and bravery that you give to society. You are the mirror in which look at us. The graphic example of what you do is that TIME magazine has chosen Susana Rodríguez for its cover. Thanks to the work and courage of Susana during the pandemic and it is essential that the media spread the life lesson of our athletes. We will have the staging in the next Games. I am going to accompany you because you deserve it and a lot. You are always a source of surprises. I think the important thing is to participate. Sometimes we pay more attention to medals than diplomas or reaching a final, but when you say: ‘No, no, we are going for medals’ … You are exemplary. In Rio you achieved 31 medals, 42 in London, 651 in all your participations and Tokyo will be the prolongation of these successes. Ending inequalities is our commitment and that of the Government of Spain. There is still a long way to go, but you have to start with something. The amount allocated to the medals has increased by more than 300%, the CSD has participated in this financing. Each gold will be compensated with 70,000 euros. We are not giving away anything but walking a path towards equality. Your participation in Tokyo will be a success with or without medals. This country trusts that you will continue to set an example of the greatness of this sport. We will celebrate your successes and always be clear that you have a great country behind you that loves and values you, he concluded.
