MADRID, 14 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Paralympic swimmer Teresa Perales has been honored at the II COTIF Good People Gala, held at the Siglo XXI Halls in l’Alcúdia (Valencia) and in which the long sports career of the Aragonese and her commitment to the sport values.
“If there is something precious that they can tell you, it is that you are good people, I am satisfied with that. You have given me a precious gift. I promise to continue giving war, feeling proud of what I do. And that without retiring. I really like to compete, also sharing moments, with my teammates and with my rivals. Some of my best friends were rivals, “he declared after receiving the award.
“It is very nice to offer help and also very necessary to ask for help. The medals have helped me change the way people look at me. There is no shame anymore. And I plan to continue swimming and fighting. Thanks to the jury and to l’Alcúdia. ‘Good People’ is you,” he said.
The award aims to identify, recognize and support all those people or entities that have stood out for their contribution or dissemination of the positive values of sport, in all its diversity and across its sociocultural spectrum.
The mayor of l’Alcúdia, Andreu Salom, highlighted Perales as “an icon of sport” and “an example for the whole world”. “L’Alcúdia is proud to link her name to it,” he said. For his part, the president of COTIF, Eliseu Gómez, underlined the institutional and citizen support for the award and the tournament and advanced part of the poster for the next edition, which will be held between July 27 and August 7, with the presence of the national teams of Argentina, Uruguay or Valencia CF, Villarreal and Santos.
Perales has won the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports and has already won 27 Paralympic medals at the Paralympic Games from Sydney 2000 to Tokyo 2020. She has taught physiotherapy and disability at the University of Zaragoza and at summer universities such as those of Teruel or Colindres, in Cantabria. In World Championships she has 22 medals and 5 world records and she has 37 medals in European Championships.
Previously, he also obtained distinctions such as being a member of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in the Grand Cross category, the Infanta Sofía National Sports Award, the Gold Medal for merit at work or the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the Miguel Hernández University of Elche.
The jury is made up of the president of the Superior Council of Sports (CSD), José Manuel Franco; the former Spanish football coach Vicente del Bosque; journalists Iñaki Gabilondo, Alfredo Relaño and Mónica Marchante; former athletes Ruth Beitia, Theresa Zabell and Anabel Medina; the head of Urology at the Hospital de la Ribera de Alzira, Antonio Benedicto; the rector of the University of Valencia, María Vicenta Mestre Escrivà; former referee Carlos Velasco Carballo; the former vice-president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Ana Muñoz; the ex-pilot of the Spanish Navy Patricia Campos Doménech; former Atletico Madrid footballer Ana Rosell; the women’s coach, Jorge Vilda; former players Salvador González ‘Voro’ and Andrés Palop; the president of COTIF, Eliseu Gómez; cultural promoter Toni Benavent; the mayor of Alcúdia, Andreu Salom; and Francesc-Andreu Martínez Gallego, Professor of Journalism.
In addition, the implication in the future of the tournament of the general director of Sports of the Generalitat Valenciana, Josep Miquel Moya; and the president of the Valencian Football Federation, Salvador Gomar.