Rafael Botello Jiménez (born 23 February 1979) is a Spanish wheelchair athlete specializing in long-distance events. He has represented Spain at the
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and 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 ...
.
Personal life
Botello was born in
Vic
Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...
,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
on 23 February 1979 and since then still living in Manlleu (SPAIN).
His father was born in
Melilla
Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...
, a Spanish
enclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
in northern Africa, and his mother was born in
Arquillos
Arquillos is a city located in the province of Jaén, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE
INE, Ine or ine may refer to:
Institutions
* Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center
* Instituto Nacional de Estadístic ...
, Jaen. He has one sister.
In 2002, he was in a bicycle accident that left him a paraplegic because of damage to the
thoracic spinal nerve 11
The thoracic spinal nerve 11 (T11) is a spinal nerve of the thoracic segment.12. Prior to his accident he played a number of sports on the amateur level including football, kickboxing and athletics.
Athletics
Botello is a T54 competitor. In 2017, he was the Spanish national record holder in the 1500 meters, on the track, and 2011 in 5 km, 10 km and 2017 in marathon on the road. He was the first Spanish wheelchair competitor to go sub-1:25 in the marathon and sub-10:15 in the 5,000 meters.
In an average year of training and competition, he will cover a distance . At the same time, he will spend six days a week training. Inside Spain, there is little funding for wheelchair marathon races and few money races and no professional category. Thus, he spends a lot of the time competing outside the country.
In order to get sponsorship, he had to personally approach and sell himself to potential sponsors.
At the 2006 World Championships in Sweden, Botello won a gold medal in the 3,000 meter event. He competed at the
2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...
in the marathon where he finished seventh. In 2010, he competed in the
New York City Marathon
The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...
, finishing in a time of 1:47.39, making him the first Spanish wheelchair competitor to finish the race. The 2010 race was his fifth time competing in the race in which he placed in the top ten three times. In 2011, he did the running part of the CAN Triathlon Mallorca, with
Vicente Javier Torres Ramis
Vicente Javier "Xavi" Torres Ramis (born 14 June 1974 in Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands) is an S5 swimmer from Spain.
Personal
Torres was born on 14 June 1974 in Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands. In May 2012, he was a presenter at th ...
doing the swimming leg and
Joan Llaneras
Joan Llaneras Rosselló (born 17 May 1969 in Porreres, Majorca) is a former Spanish World and Olympic points race champion track cyclist. He specialises in the madison and points race events.
Llaneras began his cycling career on the road with t ...
doing the cycling component.
Botello competed 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 ...
. He failed to make the finals in the 5,000 meters event. He finished ninth in the marathon with a time of 1:33.05. Melilla hosted a half marathon in November 2012 that he participated in. It was the first half marathon he competed in, and took place in his father's hometown. In March 2013, he competed at the
Los Angeles Marathon
The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...
. In March 2013, he participated in an international training camp for wheelchair athletes held in
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...