RODRIGUEZ Susana

Date of Birth: 4 Mar 1988

Age: 33

Gender: Female

Sport Class: T11

Place of birth: VIGO

Birth Country:

Spain

Place of residence : VIGO

Residence Country:

Spain

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Women's 1500m - T11	5

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 1500m - T11 Round 1 - Heat 2	Finished
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 1500m - T11 Final	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
World Championships
4	1500m - T11	2019	Dubai, UAE	5:00.06
European Championships
2	1500m - T11	2021	Bydgoszcz, POL	5:03.60

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
5	PT5	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	1:15:29
World Championships
1	PTVI	2019	Lausanne, SUI	1:14:11
1	PTVI	2018	Gold Coast, QLD, AUS	1:06:32
1	Women's TRI-6	2012	Auckland, NZL	1:02:41
2	PTVI	2017	Rotterdam, NED	1:15:02
2	Women's TRI-6b	2013	London, GBR	1:15:29
3	PT5	2015	Chicago, IL, USA	1:11:29
3	PT5	2014	Edmonton, AB, CAN	1:11:38
4	PT5	2016	Rotterdam, NED	1:15:29
European Championships
1	PTVI	2019	Valencia, ESP	1:10:27
2	PTVI	2018	Tartu, EST	1:10:27
2	PTVI	2017	Kitzbuhel, AUT	1:14:29

Su, Susi, Dar [given to her by her sister]. (Athlete, 27 Nov 2015)

Travelling, spending time outdoors, listening to music. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Occupation:

Athlete, Doctor, Physiotherapist

Medicine, Physiotherapy - University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Languages spoken:

English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

Club Triatlon Mar de Vigo atlantico.net, 17 Jun 2017 [Spain]

Luis Pina [personal], ESP, from 2013

Other sports:

She has represented Spain in Para triathlon. She placed fifth in the PT5 Para triathlon at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and won gold medals at the world championships in 2012, 2018 and 2019. (SportsDeskOnline, 02 Apr 2020; elespanol.com, 05 Oct 2019)

In 2005 she could not train or compete for three months after sustaining a knee injury and a femur bone marrow lesion. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

She began competing in athletics at age 10 and Para triathlon in 2010. (triatlonchannel.com, 09 Jan 2021)

"I have done different sports throughout my life, although my family had never been involved in sport. I participated in a Spanish championship for visually impaired children in Madrid and enjoyed the experience and got some good results without training. Then I did swimming and some sprinting. I took up Para triathlon in 2010 after missing out on selection in the 100m for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing." (triatlonchannel.com, 09 Jan 2021)

To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo in both Para triathlon and Para athletics. (rtve.es, 12 Mar 2021)

She competes in Para triathlon, Para athletics and Para cycling, for which she does five running sessions, five cycling sessions and five swimming sessions per week. (triatlonchannel.com, 09 Jan 2021)

Winning gold at the Para triathlon world championships in 2012, 2018 and 2019. (vigoe.es, 27 Jun 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 13 Apr 2021; Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Spanish triathletes Javier Gomez Noya and Ivan Rana. (Athlete, 27 Nov 2015)

Her older sister, and coach Luis Pina. (vigoe.es, 27 Jun 2021; triatlonchannel.com, 09 Jan 2021; Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

She eats spaghetti carbonara for dinner ahead of competitions. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Philosophy:

"There is only one way to get things done and that is to not be afraid to fight." (Instagram profile, 06 Mar 2021)

The sports gym at the Rosalia de Castro school in Vigo, Spain, is named in her honour. (vigoe.es, 27 Jun 2021)

In 2018 she was named Para Athlete of the Year at the Galician Women's Sports Awards in Pontevedra, Spain. (pontevedraviva.com, 11 Apr 2019)

In 2014 she received the Star of Excellence, the highest distinction given to a sportsperson by the University of Vigo in Spain, in recognition of her achievements in Para triathlon. (tv.uvigo.es, 12 Dec 2014; farodevigo.es, 12 Dec 2014)

In 2013 she was named Athlete of the Year in Vigo, Spain, at a gala organised by the regional government in recognition of her achievements in Para triathlon. (farodevigo.es, 23 Mar 2014)

General Interest

Classification
T11, F11 (IPC, 07 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (redaccionmedica.com, 22 Nov 2019; Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Impairment Details
She was born with albinism and retains only 5-7% vision in both eyes. (redaccionmedica.com, 22 Nov 2019; Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; elespanol.com, 05 Oct 2019)

Guide
Mabel Gallardo, ESP, from 2016 (farodevigo.es, 15 Sep 2017)

General
ATHLETICS AND TRIATHLON
After missing out on selection in the 100m for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, she switched to Para triathlon in 2010. She returned to Para athletics at the 2018 Grand Prix in Paris, France, where she met the minimum qualifying standard for the 1500m in that year's European championships in Berlin, Germany. But she decided against competing at the event in order to focus her attention on the Para triathlon world championships the following month. In early 2019 her Para athletics coach Pedro Maroto encouraged her to compete in both athletics and triathlon at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. "It would be a dream to be able to be in both of them." In Para triathlon she represents the Club de Triatlon Mar de Vigo and competes with guide Sara Loehr. (marca.com, 18 Oct 2019; Paralimpicos TV YouTube channel, 09 Jan 2019; Athlete, 27 Nov 2015; marca.com, 15 Apr 2014; triatlonchannel.com, 19 Nov 2012)

CAREER ON HOLD
In 2020 she switched from her job in physical medicine and rehabilitation to help the treatment of COVID-19 patients at the University Clinical Hospital of Santiago in Spain. She continued with that work during the early months of the pandemic before taking a break from her medical career as it was impacting her preparations for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. "When I returned from work I felt comforted that I was able to help my country in this battle but, then, it was getting too hard. I was putting too much weight on my shoulders, always rushing, worried about the alarm clock or about the train timetable. Now I can train in double sessions and live more relaxed." She believes there are similarities in achieving success as an athlete and as a medical professional. "They are alike in the perseverance that both require. In sport, to improve and stay at the top you must train, and in medicine you have to be up to date with things like review studies." (triatlonchannel.com, 09 Jan 2021; atlantico.net, 08 Oct 2020; redaccionmedica.com, 22 Nov 2019; Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; concursoescolar.hoy.es, 07 May 2019; planetatriatlon.com, 18 May 2017; lavozdegalicia.es, 28 Nov 2016)

MAGAZINE FEATURE
In July 2021 she appeared on the cover of US magazine Time and was featured in an article detailing her life as a doctor treating COVID-19, and as a Para athlete. "Sport helped me to be able to recover after the hard days in the hospital facing the virus and come back and face the next day at work." (spainsnews.com, 09 Jul 2021; time.com, 08 Jul 2021)

HEART CONDITION
In January 2020 she was diagnosed with a heart condition and had surgery to implant a heart monitor. (triatlonchannel.com, 09 Jan 2021)

Social Media

Legend

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

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