Rafael Botello
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Spain |
| Sport | Track and field |
Rafael Botello Jimenez is a Spanish track and field athlete specializing in long distance events. He has represented Spain at the 2008 and the 2012 Summer Paralympics where he did not earn a medal.
Personal
Botello was born in Vic, Barcelona in 1979,[1][2] and continues to reside in Barcelona.[3][2] His father was born in Melilla, a Spanish enclave in northern Africa.[4] In 2002, he was in a bicycle accident that left him a paraplegic because of damage to the Thoracic spinal nerve 11 and 12.[3] Prior to his accident he played a number of sports on the amateur level including football, kickboxing and athletics.[3] In 2010, Botello was learning English.[3]
Athletics
Botello is a T54 competitor.[5][1] In 2011, he was the Spanish national record holder in the 800 meters, 10,000 meters on the track, and 5km, 10 km and marathon on the road.[1] He was the first Spanish wheelchair competitor to go sub 1:25 on in the marathon and sub 10:15 in the 5,000 meters.[1] In an average year of training and competition, he will cover a distance 8,500 kilometres (5,300 mi). At the same time, he will spend six days a week training.[3] Inside Spain, there is little funding for wheelchair marathon races and few money races. Thus, he spends a lot of the time competing outside the country. In order to get sponsorship, he had to personally approach and sell himself to potential sponsors.[3]
At the 2006 World Championships in Sweden, Botello won a gold medal in the 3,000 meter event.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] He competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in the marathon where he finished seventh.[3] In 2010, he competed in the New York City Marathon, finishing in a time of 1:47.39, making him the first Spanish wheelchair competitor to finish the race.[3] The 2010 race was his fifth time competing in the race in which he placed in the top ten three times.[3] In 2011, he did the running part of the CAN Triathlon Mallorca, with Vicente Javier Torres Ramis doing the swimming leg and Joan Llaneras doing the cycling component.[1]
Botello competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[13][5] He failed to make the finals in the 5,000 meters event.[5] He finished ninth in the marathon with a time of 1:33.05.[14][15][6] Melilla hosted a half marathon in November 2012 that he participated in. It was the first half marathon he competed in, and took place in his father's hometown.[4] In March 2013, he competed at the Los Angeles Marathon.[15] In March 2013, he participated in an international training camp for wheelchair athletes held in Costa Rica.[15]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Un equipo de atletas comprometidos con Unicef participa este sábado en la segunda edición del ICAN Triatlón" (in Template:Es icon). 20minutos.es. 2011-09-17. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ a b "Deportes | Juegos Olímpicos | Medallero" (in Template:Es icon). elmundo.es. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i "Rafa Botello y la hazaña de correr el maratón de Nueva York con la fuerza de sus brazos" (in Template:Es icon). 20minutos.es. 2010-11-16. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ a b "eltelegrama — Botello: "Con el tiempo podrían venir a competir 1.500 personas"" (in Template:Es icon). Eltelegrama.es. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ a b c "Primer oro y tres bronces mĂĄs para EspaĂąa, debuta la tinerfeĂąa Michelle Alonso" (in Template:Es icon). Spain: Diario de Avisos. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ a b "Alberto Suárez y Ait Khamouch ponen oro y plata en la última jornada" (in Template:Es icon). Hoy.es. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Alberto Suárez y Ait Khamouch ponen oro y plata en la última jornada. Sur.es" (in Template:Es icon). Diariosur.es. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Juanjo Baena. "Alberto Suárez y Ait Khamouch ponen oro y plata en la última jornada — La Razón digital" (in Template:Es icon). Larazon.es. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Alberto Suárez y Ait Khamouch ponen oro y plata en la última jornada. Vizcaya" (in Template:Es icon). El Correo. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Alberto Suárez y Ait Khamouch ponen oro y plata en la última jornada. nortecastilla.es" (in Template:Es icon). Elnortedecastilla.es. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Alberto Suárez y Ait Khamouch ponen oro y plata en la última jornada" (in Template:Es icon). Larioja.com. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Alberto Suárez y Ait Khamouch ponen oro y plata en la última jornada" (in Template:Es icon). Diariovasco.com. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Frecuencia Digital Debutan el Atletismo y La Roja de Fútbol 5 en los Parlímpicos" (in Template:Es icon). Frecuenciadigital.es. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Oro y récord mundial para Alberto Suárez en el maratón de los Juegos Paralímpicos. SUR.es" (in Template:Es icon). Diariosur.es. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ a b c "Laurens Molina organiza un campamento en Costa Rica" (in Template:Es icon). Aldia.cr. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)