MADRID, 7 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Beatriz Lérida from La Mancha and Íñigo Llopis from San Sebastian collected their trophies this Tuesday, accrediting them as the best athletes in the first edition of the AXA Paralympic Swimming League, which was held between April and December 2022.
Llopis, already a Paralympic medalist (silver in the 100m backstroke S8 in Tokyo) and a world medalist (silver last year in the same distance and as part of the 4×100 mixed styles relay) and a member of the Spanish Federation of Sports for People with Physical Disabilities (FEDDF). , participated in three of the five events, in which he added a total of 145 points.
For its part, Lérida, which is part of the AXA Paralympic Promises Team and which also belongs to the FEDDF, accumulated 176 points among its four participations in this first edition of the AXA League that passed in 2022 through Elche (Alicante), Valladolid, Madrid, Cadiz and Oviedo.
The event, held at the Higher Sports Council (CSD), was attended by the General Director of the AXA Foundation, Josep Alfonso; the presidents of the CSD, José Manuel Franco, and the Spanish Paralympic Committee, Miguel Carballeda; the technical director of the AXA League, Ricardo Yébenes; representatives of the Spanish Sports Federations for People with Disabilities and award-winning swimmers, among others.
In addition to this recognition, the act also served to present the second edition of this circuit, organized by the Spanish Federations of Sports for the Blind (FEDC), of People with Physical Disabilities (FEDDF), with Intellectual Disabilities (FEDDI) and with Cerebral Palsy. and Acquired Brain Injury (FEDPC), and with the collaboration of the AXA Foundation and the CPE.
As reported by the CPE, this new season will increase its events, which will go from five to seven and will be held in Barcelona (February 11 and 12), Palma de Mallorca (February 25 and 26), Castellón (April 22 and 23 ), Valladolid (April 29 and 30), Madrid (July 1 and 2), Cádiz (November 18 and 19) and Oviedo (December 16 and 17). In addition, there will be prizes of 200 euros for the best swimmer and the best swimmer after each of these stages.
“More than sponsors, we want to be strategic partners and help where possible,” said Josep Alfonso, who made clear the insurer’s commitment “to continue working to strengthen” the circuit and the satisfaction that its first two champions “come from AXA Team of Paralympic Promises”.
Miguel Carballeda thanked AXA for being “always committed to Paralympic sport” and for making this new competition possible, while José Manuel Franco reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to sport for people with disabilities because “a society that is capable of integrating will always a fairer society”.
Finally, Marcos Herrero, president of FEDDI, spoke on behalf of the federations, who stressed the importance of this AXA League because it offers athletes more competitions and thus “have a horizon, measure the suitability of their training and set goals”. “The successes of Spanish swimmers and swimmers in the international championships and in the Paralympic Games are the result of effort, perseverance and perseverance”, he stressed.
The AXA League was born in 2022 with the aim of providing athletes with disabilities with more opportunities to compete and improve their marks throughout the season and is part of the commitment of AXA, sponsor of the ADOP Plan since 2007, with Paralympic swimming. , a sport that it already promotes with its Paralympic Promising Team and with the AXA Spanish Championship, which each year brings together more than a hundred swimmers with disabilities under 18 years of age.