PARIS, Aug. 28 (by Europa Press special correspondent Ramón Chamorro) –
Triathlon will be a good way to win medals at the Paris Paralympic Games, as Spain is once again taking part with a strong team that hopes to put in a great performance like the one it had three years ago in Tokyo, led by champion Susana Rodríguez and debutant Dani Molina.
The ‘Paratriarmada’ arrives in the French capital after proving itself to be a strong force in this sport and after leaving the Japanese capital with a haul of four medals thanks to the gold of Susana Rodríguez and Sara Loehr and the silver of Héctor Catalá and Gustavo Rodríguez, in the visually impaired category, and the bronze of Alejandro Sánchez Palomero (PTS4) and Eva Moral (wheelchair).
Triathlon, which debuted in Rio 2016 with the bronze medal of Jairo Ruiz, set the bar high and now in Paris it will want to match or surpass it because it has good ‘weapons’, twice as many as three years ago when it qualified seven athletes compared to the large delegation of 14 that it brings to the event.
Susana Rodríguez and Rakel Mateos have remained since their debut eight years ago, and were in Tokyo with Héctor Catalá, now with Carlos Oliver as guide, José Luis García, with Diego Méntrida as guide, Eva Moral, Alejandro Sánchez and Jairo Ruiz. The newcomers are Dani Molinia, Lionel Morales, Nil Riudavets, Andrea Miguélez, Marta Francés and Diego Lardón.
Susana Rodríguez will have the difficult mission of defending her crown in her category. The Galician triathlete has changed guides and now competes with Sara Pérez in search of repeating her gold medal. Number one in the ranking and five-time world champion, she was unable to win it for the sixth time last year at home, in Pontevedra, due to a penalty that she considered unfair and for which she will want to take her sporting revenge.
In addition, last June she had a scare in the form of a bicycle accident at 70 km/h without serious physical consequences, but which altered her preparation. Alongside her, in the visually impaired triathletes event, will be Héctor Catalá and ‘Jota’ García, who in principle are not among the favourites as they were three years ago in Tokyo.
The rest of the team is made up of triathletes with physical disabilities, and the name of Dani Molina stands out among them all. The Madrid native has an enormous track record in this sport, with five world titles and six continental titles, and he is returning to the Games 20 years later after competing in swimming in Athens. It has taken so long because his category (PTS3) was not on the programme, and now that it is, he will be the big favourite as number one in the ranking. Diego Lardón will compete alongside him.
In PTS4, Alejandro Sánchez will have the difficult mission of fighting for the podium again, as he is not among the favourites, but he already has the experience, while in his category the debutant Nil Riudavets, fifth in the ranking, does have more options. In PTS2, there will also be medal chances with Lionel Morales, third in the ranking.
In the women’s categories for physical disability, Eva Moral, who stopped after her bronze in Tokyo to become a mother, will try to rub shoulders with the best again, while Marta Francés will try to make her debut on the podium in PTS4, where she is a two-time world runner-up. The competition is completed by Andrea Miguélez (PTS5) and the veteran Rakel Mateo (PTS2).