VEGA Raul

Wheelchair Basketball

Date of Birth: 14 Apr 1993

Age: 28

Gender: Male

Sport Class: 1.0

Place of birth: CAUCASIA

Birth Country:

Colombia

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Wheelchair Basketball	Men COL Colombia	11

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Musashino Forest Sport Plaza	Men's Preliminary Round Group A #14 COL Colombia 56 JPN Japan 63	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Men's Preliminary Round Group A #22 ESP Spain 74 COL Colombia 56	Finished
	Musashino Forest Sport Plaza	Men's Preliminary Round Group A #34 KOR Republic of Korea 66 COL Colombia 54	Finished
	Musashino Forest Sport Plaza	Men's Preliminary Round Group A #37 COL Colombia 38 TUR Turkey 80	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Men's Preliminary Round Group A #46 COL Colombia 52 CAN Canada 63	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Men's Classification Playoff 11/12 #56 COL Colombia 70 ALG Algeria 47	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Occupation:

History - Pontifical Bolivarian University, Medellin, COL

Languages spoken:

Antioquia Wheelchair Basketball Team [Colombia]

Ana Cardoso [national], BRA

He took up wheelchair basketball at age 18 at the Italsup Club in Antioquia, Colombia. (upb.ed.co, 22 Oct 2019)

He originally took up Para swimming. He switched sports after he was invited to try wheelchair basketball by a school friend. "I went to see a practice and was struck by several aspects of the sport, such as contact, ball handling and throwing. I chose basketball because it is a team sport that you can share with many people. I like that a lot, because I am very sociable. I also saw that being part of a team brings a lot of responsibility and discipline, which helped me get interested in the sport." (telemedllin.tv, 23 Feb 2021)

To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (laopinion.com.co, 04 Aug 2021)

Winning a bronze medal at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru. (upb.ed.co, 22 Oct 2019)

His family, friends, teachers and coaches. (upb.ed.co, 22 Oct 2019)

Philosophy:

"You can always give your best, you can always fight for more and fulfil your dreams. Trust in your abilities and, above all, in your dreams and beliefs. As long as you have those, you can do everything possible to fulfil them." (cpc.org.co, 12 May 2021)

"If young people want to get ahead in a career, a sport or a dream that they have, do not look at the difficulties so much, but focus on the goal. From my experience, I suffered an accident, but if I say, I suffer from disability and I need everything to be given to me, I will not achieve anything. There is always hope and a way of being able to fight, and that is why society must work to change its vision, so that people with disabilities can work, play sports and have a family without there being that barrier." (upb.ed.co, 22 Oct 2019)

General Interest

Classification
1.0 (IWBF, 16 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Spinal Cord Injuries (cpc.org.co, 12 May 2021; telemedllin.tv, 23 Feb 2021; upb.ed.co, 22 Oct 2019)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (telemedllin.tv, 23 Feb 2021)

Impairment Details
At age five he was struck by a car while riding a bicycle with his younger brother. His brother was riding in the seat, while he was sat on the handlebars. He sustained a spinal cord injury in the incident, which resulted in the loss of mobility in his legs. "I was riding a bicycle and a drunken man who was driving a dump truck injured me and my brother. After the accident, time passed and I had to be transferred to Medellin [Colombia] for treatment at the San Vicente de Paul Hospital. From then on, all my childhood was spent there." (cpc.org.co, 12 May 2021; telemedllin.tv, 23 Feb 2021; upb.ed.co, 22 Oct 2019)

General
LEADERSHIP QUALITIES
He leads the Colombian national team in a prayer before matches and considers himself one of the more vocal members of the team. "I like to talk to my teammates and help us all to visualise what we can achieve. I tell them that it can be done and that we are the best, and that is why we are where we are." (cpc.org.co, 12 May 2021)

Legend

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

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