PAREDES RODRIGUEZ Maria del Carmen

Spain

Athletics

Date of Birth: 15 Jan 1963

Age: 58

Gender: Female

Sport Class: T12

Place of residence : CORNELLA DE LLOBREGAT

Residence Country:

Spain

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Women's 1500m - T13
	Women's Marathon - T12	9

Schedule

Change

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 1500m - T13 Round 1 - Heat 1	Finished
	Olympic Stadium	Women's Marathon - T12	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
10	1500m - T13	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	5:19.03
DNF	Marathon - T12	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	DNF
European Championships
4	1500m - T13	2018	Berlin, GER	5:33.69

Occupation:

Athlete

Education:

Nursing - University of Barcelona, Spain

Family:

Husband Lorenzo Sanchez, three children including Helena

Languages spoken:

Spanish

Coach:

Miguel Angel Torralba [national]

Sporting relatives:

Her husband Lorenzo Sanchez has served as her guide, and also played handball in the Spanish second division. (dxtadaptado.com, 01 Aug 2021)

Injuries:

She competed at the 2019 World Marathon Championships in London, England, with a hamstring injury and was later forced to undergo surgery. (dxtadaptado.com, 01 Aug 2021)

Start:

She took up athletics in 2005 at age 42. (maricarmenparedesrio2016.blogspot.com.es, 08 Nov 2015)

Reason:

After losing her vision, she was affected by depression and anxiety. Her husband used to run marathons and convinced her to try sport to overcome her difficulties. (maricarmenparedesrio2016.blogspot.com.es, 08 Nov 2015)

Ambition:

To win a medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (dxtadaptado.com, 01 Aug 2021)

Philosophy:

"Dreams come true if you feed them daily with passion, hard work and discipline." (Twitter profile, 05 Jun 2016)

Award:

She was flag bearer for Spain at the opening ceremony of the 2018 European Championships in Berlin, Germany. (IPC, 20 Aug 2018)

General Interest

Classification
T12, F12 (IPC, 21 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (fecpc.cat, 12 May 2015)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (maricarmenparedesrio2016.blogspot.com.es, 08 Nov 2015)

Impairment Details
In 2005, at age 42, she developed a degenerative macular condition, which severely limited her vision. (maricarmenparedesrio2016.blogspot.com.es, 08 Nov 2015)

Guide
Lorenzo Sanchez [husband] (dxtadaptado.com, 01 Aug 2021)

General
HUSBAND AND GUIDE
Her husband Lorenzo Sanchez has served as her guide since 2011. She says having a guide fully committed to her is an advantage not many runners with visual impairments have. "Without him I would not have gotten anywhere. It is a great advantage as he plans my training, all the travelling and the meals. Many blind runners have to quit because they struggle to find a guide and I am so lucky to have one 100% by my side." (dxtadaptado.com, 01 Aug 2021)

INSPIRATION FROM RIO DISAPPOINTMENT
She says her disappointment at not finishing the T12 marathon at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the first time a women's T12 marathon was run at the Games, has pushed her to aim for a medal at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. "I owe this to myself. I was part of an historic moment but I had to abandon the race due to dehydration. It was the only time that I have had to abandon a race. I was so low because at the time my times were worthy of a medal. I thought I was reaching an end point, but I decided to go on until my body tells me to stop." (dxtadaptado.com, 01 Aug 2021)

FORMER OCCUPATION
Before losing her vision, she worked as a nurse at a hospital in Barcelona, Spain, for 25 years. (maricarmenparedesrio2016.blogspot.com.es, 08 Nov 2015)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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