Susana Rodríguez Gacio (born 4 March 1988) is a Spanish doctor, paratriathlete and sprinter. She is a five-time world champion in paratriathlon and a Paralympic gold medalist in paratriathlon.

Background

Rodríguez was born with

albinism Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

and a severe visual impairment that limits her vision to less than 5% in one eye and 8% in the other, which is considered legal blindness. Since childhood, she combines her dedication to sports with a passion for medicine. Since 1998, Rodríguez has practiced athletics with a teacher from the National Organization of the Spanish Blind (

ONCE Once means a one-time occurrence. Once may refer to: Music * ''Once'' (Pearl Jam song), a 1991 song from the album ''Ten'' * ''Once'' (Roy Harper album), a 1990 album by Roy Harper * ''Once'' (The Tyde album), a 2001 debut album by The Tyd ...

) at the Pontevedra Technification Center. She participated in athletics competitions until 2008, the year when she did not get a place in the Paralympic World Cup, she decided to change her sporting activity to triathlon.

Career

In 2009, Rodríguez studied physiotherapy in

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...

in the

Pontevedra Campus The Pontevedra campus is one of three campuses that host the University of Vigo. It is located in the Spanish city of Pontevedra and offers Undergraduate education, undergraduate, Postgraduate education, postgraduate and doctorate, doctoral stud ...

and in 2015 she graduated from the

University of Santiago de Compostela , established = , type = Public , budget = €228 million (2011) , rector = Prof. Dr. Antonio López Díaz , city = Santiago de Compostela , state = Galicia , country = Spain , undergrad = 23,835 , postgrad = 1,716 , doctoral = 2,697 ...

with a degree in medicine, the year in which she began as a resident intern physician. She began her residency at the Hospital Clínico de

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

in 2016, working as a resident intern of physical medicine and rehabilitation. In 2016, Rodríguez competed in the

2016 Paralympic Games ) , 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 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

with her guide Mabel Gallardo, finishing fifth in the individual triathlon event. She qualified to participate in the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

, being the first Spaniard to compete in two sports in the Paralympic Games: triathlon and athletics. She became the Paralympic triathlon champion in the PTVI class with her guide Sara Loehr. In addition, she became a candidate for the Athletes' Council of the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and fun ...

. Rodríguez won a gold medal at Tokyo 2020 in the PTVI category. In addition, she obtained seven medals in the Adapted Triathlon World Championship between 2012 and 2019, and six medals in the Adapted Triathlon World Championship between 2013 and 2019.

Awards and honors

In 2014, Rodríguez was recognized with the Premio Gallega del Año for February awarded by

El Correo Gallego ''El Correo Gallego'' is a Galician newspaper founded in Ferrol, Spain, by José María Abizanda in 1878. In 1938 its owner, Juan Sáenz-Díez García, moved the daily to Santiago de Compostela; since then the paper has been headquartered there. ...

, Terras de Santiago, Correo TV and Radio Obradoiro. In 2021, she appeared on the cover of

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

for her dedication in the fight against

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. That same year, the National Organization of the Spanish Blind (ONCE) dedicated a coupon to her for her participation in the 2020 Paralympic Games. In addition, she was awarded the Special Prize for MAS Talent on Board 2021, one of the three special awards of the VIII Women to Follow Awards, delivered in collaboration with

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

. On 15 November 2021, the plenary session of the Vigo City Council awarded Rodríguez the city's gold medal.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Susana 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Vigo Spanish female triathletes Spanish female sprinters 21st-century Spanish women physicians 21st-century Spanish physicians Paralympic athletes for Spain Paralympic triathletes for Spain Triathletes at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Spain Paralympic athletes (track and field) with a vision impairment Spanish blind people University of Santiago de Compostela alumni Physicians with disabilities