MADRID, 31 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Paralympic triathlete Susana Rodríguez considers it “an honour” to know that she is the “standard to beat” for her rivals, although it is also “a responsibility” to arrive at the Paris Games as the reigning champion in Tokyo 2020, but she does not forget the complicated circumstances in which the swimming event will take place after the problems with pollution and the water current in the Seine River, which will host the competition.
“It’s a responsibility, but it’s also an honour to know that you are the standard to beat. When I started practising sport I would never have thought that I would achieve what I have achieved. It’s more pressure, because a lot is expected of you, but the first ones to expect the most are the winners,” said Susana Rodríguez in an interview with Europa Press after saying goodbye to the Spanish Paralympic Team before travelling to Paris.
The visually impaired triathlete faces the French event with the aim of having her “best race”, knowing that the rest does not depend on her. She does not forget that “everyone prepares well for the Games, and that right now there is a very high level in the tandem category”, which is “very good for the sport”. “We hope to finish the race knowing that we could not have given more and that there is no external factor that influences it”, she hoped.
On this point, the Galician explained that she is preparing herself “mentally” to face this situation. “These are circumstances of uncertainty, above all, regarding the distance to swim, the current, which are totally changeable,” she indicated.
She is clear that she must “prepare her mind to try to focus only on the most important things” because she is aware that the decision of the organization will be “last minute”, as happened at the Olympic Games a month ago, when the men’s event had to be postponed one day due to water pollution. In this case, all the events will finally be held on the same day, September 1, and not on two days, although the river course will remain the same.
For the athlete, the Seine is “an incredible place,” and she pointed out that “the organization has made an effort and invested a lot of money in preparing an emblematic place to develop open water swimming competitions,” but she regretted that “it seems that the result is not optimal,” and that this is not the best for the athletes because “the work invested behind it is brutal.”
The Paralympic champion hoped that in the future, the scenarios that are planned “have as a priority the safety and well-being of the athlete”, and not just “showcase the qualities of a city that no one doubts”.
Rodríguez is clear that, as it is a competition with athletes with disabilities, “there are always inequalities” and that there are triathletes who could have “much more difficulty swimming.” “No matter how much you try to equalize, in one category there are people who are at the lower limit of gravity and at the upper limit, and these types of factors accentuate the problem we have.”
In his case, with 95% blindness, he is aware that if he is going to compete without having been able to train previously in these conditions, “the difference with the partner who sees and can see the buoys is great.”