Stopping is also moving forward. Sometimes it’s even the only way to come back stronger. Sergio Ibanez He learned it the hard way at the beginning of 2025, when his body forced him to get off the tatami and undergo surgery. Months of pain in left wrist They had been undermining their performance until the operation was inevitable. The stop was abrupt, the uncertainty great, but the return has been forceful: two international medals and the confidence regained to continue in the elite of judo for the blind.
About to turn 27 – he will do so on January 19 – the Aragonese judoka is no longer that shy young man who started in this sport almost by chance. The path traveled has toughened him. He has tasted the taste of success and the bitterness of defeathas learned to fall and, above all, to get up. He never lowers his arms.
Judo is not only his passion, it is his refuge and his school of life. He taught him values that he transfers to his daily life today. As a child, in his native Alagón (Zaragoza), it was difficult for him to relate to other kids. Shyness was his armor. He was born with a 79% visual disability caused by a cone dystrophy that affects the optic nerve: he does not distinguish colors and has great difficulty seeing from a distance.
Successes on the tatami
But everything changed when he stepped on the tatami. There another Sergio emerged, more combative, brave, with a warrior instinct that would end up taking him to the top of judo. Medal after medal, he established himself as one of the great international references. In this process, one figure has been key: Javier Delgado, his coach, sports guide and emotional support in the most complex moments.
Together they signed the greatest milestone of their career: the medal of silver at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Then came more podiums, more joys… until Paris 2024. There, when everything pointed to the gold that eluded him in Japan, the competition ended prematurely. Eliminated in the first round, the blow was hard.
“I keep thinking about that day, so that it doesn’t happen again. I know that I never want to experience a moment like this again in my sporting career. A week after returning from Paris we were already planning the next competition and the work to improve,” he confesses.
The reaction was immediate. Two months later he smiled again, hanging his gold at the Astana Grand Prixin the J2 category -70 kilos. A victory that served to show that what happened in Paris was just a bad day. However, the wrist continued to limit him and, in 2025, he had to stop.
The resurgence with medals
“The worst thing was the uncertainty of how it was going to turn out and how much mobility I would have. It was impossible to ensure my return to judo,” he recalls. The operation, carried out by Dr. Ortiz Espada, was a success. The recovery, a collective effort together with the medical and physiotherapy team of the Spanish Paralympic Committee. “My wrist is almost an exceptional case of how well it turned out,” he admits.
For months, a phrase accompanied him like a mantra: “Stay the course, even if there are many bumps.” He took care of every detail: rehabilitation, rest, food. “The only way is work and perseverance.”I don’t know another one. I have fallen many times and gotten up every time. That’s what my team and I did,” he emphasizes.
The return came in August, with a bronze in the Grand Prix of Giza (Egypt). Then, a fifth place in the European Championship in Tbilisi. And to close the year, the best possible ending: I pray at the São Paulo Grand Prix. Stronger, more technical, with a more mature and sharp judo, he is still installed in the elite.
“After the operation it was a hard stage and with certain doubts, your head always wants to give you bad plays, but luckily I am very well surrounded and everything turned out great. The desire I had to compete again helped me a lot,” he points out.
The victory in Brazil has given him the necessary boost to look to the future with ambition. Starting in September, with the World Cup, The qualifying ranking for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games will begin. He wants to be there and get rid of the pain of Paris with a new Paralympic medal.
