ABARZA Alberto

Classification
S2 (IPC, 02 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Impaired muscle power (ellibero.cl, 28 Dec 2015)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 10 Sep 2019)

Impairment Details
At age two he was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. The condition affects the nervous system and causes degenerative muscle weakness. (Athlete, 10 Sep 2019; emol.com, 30 Dec 2017; ellibero.cl, 28 Dec 2015)

General
EYES ON TOKYO
In 2020 he spoke about how the degenerative nature of his condition may prevent him from being able to compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, following the one-year postponement of the Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "I do not know if I will be able to be there [Tokyo 2020] next year, I see it as 80% more difficult. Every day it costs more to be able to move. Absolutely I am wanting to be in Tokyo [2020]. I want to teach my daughter to fight. While the medal is important, I want to teach her that you have to try. Try to enjoy it and keep smiling, because it was four years of preparation." (biobiochile.cl, 21 May 2020)

US INVITATION
In 2020 he declined an invitation from the United States of America to join their national Para swimming team. "They realised I had not competed for Chile for one year [due to the COVID-19 pandemic]. They offered me an apartment in New York, training, medical staff and a monthly wage, bigger than the Chilean one. But this is not about money. It's a good opportunity but I love my country for better or for worse. And I want to make a difference from Chile. [They invited me], I think, because I have a chance to win a medal [at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo]. It had never been my goal to go for it. I think everybody thinks I'm going to win, but I don't. I hope I will, and I will give my best to do it." (vergara240.udp.cl, 03 Sep 2020)

COVID-19 LOCKDOWN AFFECTING IMPAIRMENT
He was unable to train between March and September 2020 during the lockdown period in Chile due to his high-risk medical status. He says the break from training caused his degenerative condition to worsen. "All [athletes] who were qualified to [the 2020 Paralympic Games in] Tokyo were supposed to train. But I was not in that group because I belong to the high risk population due to my impairment. What they did not understand was that, on one hand they were taking care of me, but on the other hand I was dying. I depend on exercise to survive, basically, because my impairment gets worse every day. The pandemic has affected me a lot. As we couldn't train and with no medical staff, the condition got worse. I have so much pain in my legs and my arms do not move as before." (vergara240.udp.cl, 03 Sep 2020; eldeportero.cl, 21 Aug 2020)

BREAK AND RETURN
At age 20 he lost mobility in his legs and decided to take time away from the sport. He returned to the sport two years later as part of his rehabilitation but was reluctant to enter high performance swimming. However, at age 24, his coach encouraged him to start taking the sport seriously and begin pursuing a career as a Para swimmer. (vergara240.udp.cl, 03 Sep 2020)