Road to París

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Alejandro Rojas
Sport: Special Olympics swimming
Achievements: world runner-up in the fifty metres butterfly twice
competitor in two events at the Tokyo 2020 Special Olympics

Alejandro is a sportsman from the Canary Islands who dreams big. Cerebral palsy detected when he was nine months old has not stopped him earning two university degrees and currently combining two jobs with daily training sessions to earn a place at the Paris 2024 Special Olympics.

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Cristóbal Ramos
Sport: Special Olympics triathlon
Achievements: World Cup 2nd place in Abu Dhabi, World Cup 2nd place in A Coruña and World Cup 3rd place in Málaga

Cristóbal Ramos, from Villanueva del Rosario, is a member of the CaixaBank team of young triathlon talents. He highlights the importance of feeling supported on the way to Paris to achieve his dream: to make it to the Special Olympics.

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Ricardo Ten Argilés
Sport: Special Olympics cycling
Achievements: three Special Olympics golds, seven world titles and twelve European golds

At the age of eight Ricardo Ten suffered a serious accident that was to mark the rest of his life. Sport has been his great motivation: first swimming, in which he was highly successful. After the Special Olympics in Río de Janeiro in 2016, he hung up his trunks to focus on track cycling. He is the most successful Spanish track cyclist, in either Special Olympic or Olympic competitions.

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Sara Andrés
Sport: Special Olympics athletics
Achievements: world runner-up in the hundred metres competitor at the Special Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and at the Special Olympics in Tokyo in 2020

Sara, a primary school teacher and Special Olympics athlete, suffered a traffic accident in 2011 involving double amputation below the knees. Sport has always been very important in her life, though she considers herself to be an atypical athlete, preferring to train less but train well. She has written a children's book, Sabes quién soy (You Know Who I Am), and earned a place at the Paris 2024 Special Olympics.

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Luis Miguel García-Marquina
Sport: special Olympics cyclist
Achievements: bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Special Olympics

Luis Miguel García-Marquina, born in Tarancón, Cuenca, started out in the sports world at a very early age. Competing in motocross, at the age of 23 he suffered an accident that left him paraplegic. His recovery was followed by a decade of wheelchair basketball, an option for rehabilitation and training that led him to win a Spanish and a European title. Cycling came afterwards, after a public race in which he felt once more the adrenalin of speed.

Guest Special Olympics athletes: Diego Molina y Sergio Molina
Sport: special Olympics triathlon
Achievements: Diego: Spanish Special Olympics duathlon runner-up. Sergio: Spanish Special Olympics triathlon runner-up.

The Molina brothers, known as Los Rubios (the Blond Boys), have had 80% visual disability from birth. Sport has always been part of their lives. They started out training in amateur clubs with people with no disability. One day they heard about the possibility of going professional by joining the CaixaBank team of young triathlon talents, where they are now training to compete at the highest level.

Guest Special Olympics athlete: María Delgado
Sport: Special Olympics swimming

María Delgado, from Zaragoza, started out in both athletics and swimming at the age of 10, competing at national level in both sports. A member of the Stadium Casablanca swimming team, she competes with swimmers with and without disabilities and trains at the high-performance sports centre in Madrid. In October 2016 she was awarded the Royal Order of Sporting Merit medal. She has many achievements, highlights of which include two bronze medals at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Special Olympics.

She has her ticket to the Paris 2024 Special Olympics.

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Iván Salguero
Sport: Special Olympics swimming

Iván Salguero, a 26 year-old swimmer from the Navarre region, was born with a rare macula disorder that limits his vision to 10%. He has been involved in sports (including judo and football) from a very early age, but when he discovered the swimming pool he knew this was the sport for him. He has taken part in two previous Special Olympics, where he won diplomas, and now has his ticket to his third games. Ivan is currently world number two in the 4 x 100 metres freestyle.

He has his ticket to the Paris 2024 Special Olympics.

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Judith Rodríguez
Sport: Special Olympics fencing
Achievements: world champion in 2022, bronze in foil and epee at the 2024 European championship 

Judith Rodríguez is a young woman from Vigo who has always lived for fencing. From an early age she plunged into the world of swords and duels, finding her refuge and her passion in the foil and the sword. But sometimes life takes unexpected turns, and a car accident left Judith fighting for her life. Her right leg was amputated. Her right arm was also irreparably damaged, but Judith did not give in and found a new path: wheelchair fencing. 

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Álex Sánchez Palomero 
Sport: Special Olympics triathlon
Achievements: Special Olympics double medallist: first as a swimmer in Beijing 2008 (bronze medallist in the 100 metres breaststroke) and then as a triathlete in Tokyo 2020 (bronze medal in the triathlon)

Álex was born in Salamanca, but has lived in Palma for years. He is a Special Olympics triathlete and a graduate in Advertising and PR, a master's degree in Communication and Sports Journalism and another master's in Coaching and Emotional Intelligence. At 17 he suffered a motorcycle accident and this changed his life, but thanks to the support of this family and friends, and his nonconformist character, Álex went ahead and made his dreams come true.

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Nil Riudavets
Sport: Special Olympics triathlon
Achievements: World Cup 1st place in Abu Dhabi and first place in the World Cup in A Coruña in 2023

Nil Riudavets Victory (b. Maó, 1996) is mad about triathlon, a sport that crushed his dreams and put his life in danger, but which then gave him back joy and enthusiasm with new challenges. He had been successful, winning several international medals in the junior category before an accident clipped his wings. Three years later, after a long, arduous rehabilitation process, the man from the Balearic Islands has risen from the ashes with a promising triathlon debut, winning bronze at the World Cup in A Coruña.

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Marta Fernández Infante
Sport: Special Olympics swimming
Achievements: triple medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Special Olympics (gold, silver and bronze), world record in 50 metres butterfly (2024)

Marta, from Burgos, has suffered from degenerative cerebral palsy since the age of 19, but this has not stopped her from becoming one of Spain's top Special Olympics swimmers. A triple medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Special Olympics, she has beaten world records in several events, most recently the 50 metres butterfly. She currently divides her time between her job as a civil servant and swimming training, a sport in which she has become one of the brightest hopes in Spain.

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Óscar Salguero
Sport: Special Olympics swimming
Achievements: gold in the 100 metres breast stroke at the Río de Janeiro games and silver in the 100 metres breast stroke at the Tokyo 2020 games

Óscar Salguero was born in Sabadell. He has had a passion for the water since an early age and, though he has tried all kinds of sports, in the end swimming was the one for him. He has trained at the CAR Sant Cugat élite training centre under the orders of his coach, Jaume Marcè, and has a long professional career behind him. He has already been to two Paralympic Games, where he won two medals, and is now heading for Paris after getting over a hip operation.

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Núria Marquès 
Sport: Special Olympics swimming
Achievements: double medallist at the Paralympic Games: gold and silver at the Río de Janeiro 2016 games and silver and bronze in Tokyo 2020

Núria was born with a disability in her left leg, but this has not stopped her competing or living a normal life. She started swimming as a baby and at 11 years of age competed for the first time in an event for people with disabilities. Since then she has enjoyed major successes, leading her to compete in the Paralympic Games at a very early age. Núria says that sport makes her grow as a person.

Guest Special Olympics athlete: Toni Ponce
Sport: natación paralímpica
Achievements: double medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. He holds several world records and Paris will be his third Games

Toni Ponce, born in Vilafranca del Penedès, started swimming at a very early age, but left the pool because he thought he was not good enough at the sport. However, after seeing the London 2012 Games he returned to the water. Today he is one of the great world medallists, with two silvers in Tokyo 2020 and several world records. Apart from his sporting side, Toni is a physiotherapist and has his own clinic.