Sebastián Rodríguez Veloso (Spanish pronunciation: [seβasˈtjan roˈðɾiɣeθ]; born on 27 February 1957) is a Spanish Paralympic swimmer. He has competed at four Paralympic Games winning fifteen medals: eight gold, four silver and three bronze. His attendance at the Games was controversial after it was revealed that he had been jailed for bomb attacks while a member of First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups (GRAPO).
Rodríguez was born in Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain on 27 February 1957. [1] [2] He is nicknamed Chano. [3]
In the 1980s he was a member of the Spanish terrorist organisation First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups ( Spanish: Grupos de Resistencia Antifascista Primero de Octubre, GRAPO). [4] [5] In 1984, at the age of 26, he was jailed for 84 years for his role in the murder of Seville business leader Rafael Padura and a series of bomb attacks. [2] [4] [6]
In 1990 while in prison he went on hunger strike for 432 days, leaving his health permanently damaged and resulting in him losing the use of his legs. [2] [4] [6] [7] He was released on parole from prison in 1994 under a Spanish law which says that the seriously ill should not be jailed, and in 2007 he was pardoned by the Spanish Government. [2] [4] [6]
Rodríguez is an S5 swimmer. [8] In his swimming career, he has earned over 20 total medals. [6] His training base is Vigo. [3]
In 2010, Rodríguez competed at the Tenerife International Open. [9] Rodríguez competed at the 2010 Adapted Swimming World Championship in the Netherlands. In advance of the competition, he attended a swimming camp with the national team that was part of the Paralympic High Performance Program (HARP Program). [10] He competed at the 2011 IPC European Swimming Championships in Berlin, Germany. He earned a gold medal. He almost finished first in the 4x50 meter freestyle relay with teammates Richard Oribe, Alvaro Bayona and Jordi Gordillo but a bad touch led to disqualification. [11] [12] [13] He competed at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships. [3] [14] [15]
Rodríguez first competed at the Paralympics at the 2000 Sydney Games. He took part having told Spanish officials that he lost his legs in a traffic accident, [7] but he lost his leg during a hunger strike during its years in prison. [16] He won five gold medals at the Games and set four new world records. [5] Three of his golds came in individual freestyle events in the S5 classification, as he set world records in the 50 metres, [17] 100 metres [18] and 200 metres. [19] He also won gold medals as part of the Spanish relay teams in the 4×50 m freestyle 20 pts and the 4×50 m medley 20 pts, setting a new world record in the freestyle relay. [20] [21] The truth about how he came to be disabled was revealed by a Spanish newspaper during the Games, which led to calls for him to return his medals; [2] however, his participation was backed by politicians from his home town. [5]
At the 2004 Summer Paralympics held in Athens, Greece, Rodriguez won a further three gold medals. He successfully defended his titles in the 50 m, 100 m and 200 m freestyle events, setting new world records in the final of each event. [22] [23] [24]
In 2008 he competed in his third Paralympics at the Beijing Games in China. Rodríguez won four medals: silvers in the 200 m freestyle and the 4×50 m freestyle 20 pts, [25] [26] and bronze medals in the 50 m freestyle and the 4×50 m medley relay 20 pts. [27] [28] [29]
His fourth Paralympic appearance came at the 2012 Games in London, United Kingdom. He won three medals at the Games; [1] [2] [6] silvers in the 50 m freestyle and 200 m freestyle, [7] and a bronze in the 100 m. [30] [31] [32]
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Full name | Sebastián Rodríguez Veloso | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Spanish | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain | 27 February 1957|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Sebastián Rodríguez Veloso (Spanish pronunciation: [seβasˈtjan roˈðɾiɣeθ]; born on 27 February 1957) is a Spanish Paralympic swimmer. He has competed at four Paralympic Games winning fifteen medals: eight gold, four silver and three bronze. His attendance at the Games was controversial after it was revealed that he had been jailed for bomb attacks while a member of First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups (GRAPO).
Rodríguez was born in Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain on 27 February 1957. [1] [2] He is nicknamed Chano. [3]
In the 1980s he was a member of the Spanish terrorist organisation First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups ( Spanish: Grupos de Resistencia Antifascista Primero de Octubre, GRAPO). [4] [5] In 1984, at the age of 26, he was jailed for 84 years for his role in the murder of Seville business leader Rafael Padura and a series of bomb attacks. [2] [4] [6]
In 1990 while in prison he went on hunger strike for 432 days, leaving his health permanently damaged and resulting in him losing the use of his legs. [2] [4] [6] [7] He was released on parole from prison in 1994 under a Spanish law which says that the seriously ill should not be jailed, and in 2007 he was pardoned by the Spanish Government. [2] [4] [6]
Rodríguez is an S5 swimmer. [8] In his swimming career, he has earned over 20 total medals. [6] His training base is Vigo. [3]
In 2010, Rodríguez competed at the Tenerife International Open. [9] Rodríguez competed at the 2010 Adapted Swimming World Championship in the Netherlands. In advance of the competition, he attended a swimming camp with the national team that was part of the Paralympic High Performance Program (HARP Program). [10] He competed at the 2011 IPC European Swimming Championships in Berlin, Germany. He earned a gold medal. He almost finished first in the 4x50 meter freestyle relay with teammates Richard Oribe, Alvaro Bayona and Jordi Gordillo but a bad touch led to disqualification. [11] [12] [13] He competed at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships. [3] [14] [15]
Rodríguez first competed at the Paralympics at the 2000 Sydney Games. He took part having told Spanish officials that he lost his legs in a traffic accident, [7] but he lost his leg during a hunger strike during its years in prison. [16] He won five gold medals at the Games and set four new world records. [5] Three of his golds came in individual freestyle events in the S5 classification, as he set world records in the 50 metres, [17] 100 metres [18] and 200 metres. [19] He also won gold medals as part of the Spanish relay teams in the 4×50 m freestyle 20 pts and the 4×50 m medley 20 pts, setting a new world record in the freestyle relay. [20] [21] The truth about how he came to be disabled was revealed by a Spanish newspaper during the Games, which led to calls for him to return his medals; [2] however, his participation was backed by politicians from his home town. [5]
At the 2004 Summer Paralympics held in Athens, Greece, Rodriguez won a further three gold medals. He successfully defended his titles in the 50 m, 100 m and 200 m freestyle events, setting new world records in the final of each event. [22] [23] [24]
In 2008 he competed in his third Paralympics at the Beijing Games in China. Rodríguez won four medals: silvers in the 200 m freestyle and the 4×50 m freestyle 20 pts, [25] [26] and bronze medals in the 50 m freestyle and the 4×50 m medley relay 20 pts. [27] [28] [29]
His fourth Paralympic appearance came at the 2012 Games in London, United Kingdom. He won three medals at the Games; [1] [2] [6] silvers in the 50 m freestyle and 200 m freestyle, [7] and a bronze in the 100 m. [30] [31] [32]