Desirée Vila Bargiela (born 15 June 1998) is a Paralympic athlete and former

acrobatic gymnast Acrobatic gymnastics is a competitive gymnastic discipline where partnerships of gymnasts work together and perform figures consisting of acrobatic moves, dance and tumbling, set to music. There are three types of routines; a 'balance' routine ...

who competes in international level events.

Sport accident

On 26 February 2015, Vila was doing gymnastics practice at the 2015 European Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships and broke her right tibia and fibula and compressing her popliteal artery, which resulted in her right leg being amputated above the knee and was forced to quit the sport after only being a professional acrobatic gymnast for three years prior to her injury. Her family filed a lawsuit for medical negligence against the doctor and the hospital where Vila was treated, the doctor was sentenced to two years in prison and received a four-year suspension, the family were given a €2 million compensation. However, in 2019, the doctor's jail sentence and suspension were revoked and the compensation was reduced.

Paralympic athletics career

Vila took up Paralympic athletics at the age of nineteen after being encouraged by a friend. She competed for her country at the World Para Athletics European Championships and the

World Para Athletics Championships The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It ...

where she competed in

sprinting Sprinting is running over a short distance at the top-most speed of the body in a limited period of time. It is used in many sports that incorporate running, typically as a way of quickly reaching a target or goal, or avoiding or catching an op ...

and long jump events, her highest achievement is ending at sixth place in the women's long jump and the

2018 World Para Athletics European Championships The 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships was a track and field competition for athletes with a disability open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe, plus Azerbaijan and Israel. It was held in ...

in Berlin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vila Bargiela, Desiree 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from Vigo Athletes from Madrid Paralympic athletes for Spain Spanish female sprinters Spanish female long jumpers Spanish gymnasts