Gerard Descarrega Puigdevall
/ref> (born May 2, 1994, in

La Selva del Camp La Selva del Camp is a municipality in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute ...

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

) is a

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

athlete from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

competing mainly in category T11. He has a visual impairment, and has represented Spain at the 2012

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

Personal

Descarrega was born May 2, 1994, in

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is k ...

. He has a visual impairment. In December 2013, he attended an event marking Spanish insurance company Santa Lucía Seguros becoming a sponsor of the

Spanish Paralympic Committee Spanish Paralympic Committee ( es, Comité Paralímpico Español, CPE) is a Spanish non-profit sport organisation founded in 1995, that oversees five national disability sport federations. The organisation has a Secretary General and a President ...

, and consequently Plan ADOP which funds high performance Spanish disability sport competitors. He chose to attend the event because he wanted to show support for this type of sponsorship. In December 2013, he participated in an event related to Spain's

constitution day Constitution Day is a holiday to honour the constitution of a country. Constitution Day is often celebrated on the anniversary of the signing, promulgation or adoption of the constitution, or in some cases, to commemorate the change to constitut ...

at the Municipal Sports Centre Moratalaz in Madrid.

Athletics

Descarrega is a

athlete from

competing mainly in category T11. The 2011 Spanish National Adaptive Athletics Championships were held in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

and Descarrega competed in them. He competed at the 2011 IPC World Athletics Championships in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

where he finished third in the 400 meter race. He also competed in the men's visually impaired 4x100 meter relay with Xavier Porras (T11), Martín Parejo Maza (T11), and Maximiliano Óscar Rodríguez Magi (T12) who finished in Spanish record national time of 45.45 seconds while earning a bronze medal in the event. In 2012, he was a recipient of a Plan ADO €18,000 athlete scholarship with a €3,000 reserve and a €2,500 coaching scholarship. Prior to the start of the London Games, he trained with several other visually impaired Spanish track and field athletes in

Logroño Logroño () is the capital of the province of La Rioja, situated in northern Spain. Traversed in its northern part by the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of passage, such as the Camino de Santiago. Its borders were disputed b ...

. He competed in 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 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

where he finished fourth in the 400 meter race. He failed to make the finals in the 100 meters. In July 2013, he participated in the

2013 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 July. Around 1,100 athletes competed, ...

. He was a member of the men's 4x100 meter relay team along with Maxi Rodríguez, Xavi Porras and Martín Parejo Maza. The team qualified for the final after setting the best time in their semi-final race.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Descarrega, Gerard 1994 births Living people Spanish male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Spain Paralympic athletes for Spain Spanish disabled athletes Plan ADOP alumni Athletes from Catalonia People from Baix Camp Sportspeople from the Province of Tarragona Paralympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships Medalists at the World Para Athletics European Championships Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Visually impaired sprinters Paralympic sprinters