Thursday, July 18, 2013

With the IPC Athletics World Championships scheduled to start this Friday, Wikinews interviewed Spanish T12 classified long distance runner Elena Congost Mohedano at Madrid–Barajas Airport Monday before he departed for Lyon, France. Congost is scheduled to compete in the T12 1500 meters.

((Wikinews)) Hello, I’m interviewing Elena Congost Mohedano who is a Spanish Paralympic athlete who won a silver in London and is going to Lyon to compete in the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships. Having won a medal in London are you going to get another one in this one?

Elena Congost Mohedano : Yes! I train all year to go to win a medal.

((WN)) Which medal?

Elena Congost Mohedano: Gold! (laughs)

((WN)) Which event?

Elena Congost Mohedano: In 1500m.

((WN)) So you’re a long distance runner. And you don’t train/run with a guide because you’re, what, T-13?

Elena Congost Mohedano: I’m T-12.

((WN)) Ah. So you have a degenerative eye disease, so your vision is getting worse? ^{((es))Spanish language: ?¿Tu visión empeora?}

Elena Congost Mohedano: Yes.

((WN)) Do you expect it to get much worse over your continued history competing?

Elena Congost Mohedano: Now it’s stalled, but next year it’s possible.

((WN)) Do you plan to stick since you’ve been competing since 2002, right…?

Elena Congost Mohedano: Yes, [Unintelligible].

((WN)) Do you plan to continue running until 2020 if Madrid gets the Games?

Elena Congost Mohedano: I don’t know. (laughs) First 2016 in Rio, and then… I don’t know.

((WN)) There’s so few women competing for Spain. Is that an additional challenge as an athlete in this country?

Elena Congost Mohedano: No… In this country there are more girls in 100m, 200m and long jump. More people. In middle distance no. Two, three, four girls only.

((WN)) Why do you think there’s so few women on the Spanish team? It’s like 27 total Spanish competing, and there’s like [three] women?

Elena Congost Mohedano: I don’t know… The level is high internationally, but in Spain… no more level.

((WN)) Someone with a visual impairement, there’s a lot of sports you could do?

Elena Congost Mohedano: The people now are very lazy. (laughs) No one runs. (laughs)

((WN)) With so many sporting opportunities for people with vision impairments in Spain, why did you choose track and field?

Elena Congost Mohedano: When I was young, my dream was to become an athlete. I saw them in tv, in races, and I told my parents “my wish is to win a gold medal in the Olympics!”

((WN)) Is there any particular athlete you remember from when you were young being particularly inspiring?

Elena Congost Mohedano: No.

((WN)) Spain has these really distinctive uniforms. The colors… Do people ever comment to you about them? Because in the US they were like, “your uniforms look like McDonald’s!” ^{((es))Spanish language: ?¿Hay alguien que ha dicho algo de lo que es el color y tal, porque por lo visto en EE.UU dicen que son como McDonalds.}

Elena Congost Mohedano: (laughs) In London, everyone said they were not good… They said we looked like clowns. But this one now is…redder. Better.

((WN)) As somebody who’s been competing for more than ten years, has there been a big change in the Paralympic movement from your perspective?

Elena Congost Mohedano: Yes! Every year the level is higher. In the Paralympics, every four years I increase my performance level.

((WN)) Do you think that the increased competition has made you a better athlete?

Elena Congost Mohedano: Yes! Yes.

((WN)) Thank you very much!

Elena Congost Mohedano: Okay!