Daniela Eugenia Velasco Maldonado (born August 24, 1995) is a Mexican Paralympic athlete who was part of the Mexican delegation at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

. She was a bronze medalist in the 400 meters dash of the T12 category at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

. She was close to being a medalist in the 1500 meters of Rio 2016 but was then disqualified.

Personal life

As a child she suffered the loss of an eye and rehabilitated at the National Institute for Rehabilitation of Blind and Visually Impaired Children of Mexico. Her start in athletics was motivated by

Ana Gabriela Guevara Ana Gabriela Guevara Espinoza (born March 4, 1977) is a Mexican former track and field athlete who specialized in the 400 meters and is the 7th fastest female 300-meter runner in the world, running 300 meters in 35.3 seconds on May 3, 2003. She ...

, whom she watched competing in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, so she looked for opportunities to practice

adaptive sports Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical disability, physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing able-bodied sports, while others have been spec ...

in the Mexican Paralympic Center. She is a student of the National Preparatory School of the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

. Her coach is Fabricio Chamor and her guide is Gabriel Urbina.

Sports career

Velasco won two bronze medals and one silver medal at the

2011 Parapan American Games The 4th Parapan American Games took place from November 12 to 20 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Games are an international multi-sport event for athletes with a physical disability. The Games were held 20 days after the 2011 Pan American Games beg ...

, in the 100, 200 and 400-meters dash, respectively. At the

, she competed in the 400 meters dash in the T12 category, with her guide Jose Fuentes, obtaining the bronze medal with a time of 58.51. In the 2015 Parapan American Games, she achieved the gold medal in the 800 meters T12 category with a 2:16.89 run time, which represented an American record.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velasco, Daniela 1995 births Living people Athletes from Mexico City Paralympic athletes for Mexico Mexican female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic bronze medalists for Mexico Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Parapan American Games