Paralympic triathlete who helped Spain fight Covid wins gold

Guide Sara Loehr also received a gold medal

During Spain's tough lockdown last year, Paralympic triathlon champion Susana Rodriguez trained furiously at home and helped fight the coronavirus in her job as a doctor.

Rodriguez -- who swam, cycled and sprinted to gold in Saturday's PTVI race for athletes with visual impairments -- said working in a hospital meant she "knew Covid was very serious, since the very beginning".

"He gave the new data, and things were going really wrong," the 33-year-old told AFP ahead of her competition at the virus-postponed Tokyo Paralympics.

She then put her specialisation in physical medicine and rehabilitation to use by helping patients recover from the most severe infections -- while fitting in hours on her treadmill and exercise bike between shifts.

"For a blind person, we rely a lot on touching things, and when (the pandemic) started, everything turned to distancing, and touch was not the best idea. So it was difficult, especially in the beginning."

"In the world of sports, this means everything," she told reporters on Saturday after her win, adding that she had "done my homework" by training hard for the race.

Rodriguez will become the first Spanish Paralympian to compete in two disciplines at the same Games when she runs in the women's 1500m T11 on Sunday.

The best way to keep up stamina for back-to-back events is to take things day by day, according to the Spaniard.

"I'm better in triathlon... but I really love the track," said Rodriguez, who finished fifth in her triathlon category at Rio 2016.

Rodriguez says her guide athletes are "my eyes during competition", and "they know me really well. We don't need to speak, because they know if I can push harder or not."

"For example, when you go for dinner or breakfast, they are telling you what food to take. In the end, they are my friends."

"I didn't know if I could keep practising sport at a professional level," she said.

Spectators are banned from most competitions at the Games and athletes must stick to strict virus rules.

"This is taking so long, we have been putting our hopes in many things and it's getting hard," she said.

kaf/mtp

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