Jesús Hernández: From being inspired to becoming the inspiration

Jesús Hernández is proud of himself. It can be felt through his words, through his emotions and even through his tears, when he remembers what he has built and achieved in his career as a Paralympian.

Before heading to Paris 2024, he already snatched a gold medal from Tokyo 2020 (150m individual medley SM3) and three bronze medals from Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016.  He also won two gold medals in the Madeira 2022 World Para Swimming Championships (200m and 100m freestyle S3). But holds even in higher regard that he can now be an inspiration for younger athletes, just as others were for him when he was growing up in Guanajuato, Mexico.

“I started in swimming at 13 years old, following Michael Phelps, of course, but also Juan Ignacio Reyes (retired Mexican Paralympian and 5-time Paralympic gold medallist). Seeing him beating world records and winning medals was an inspiration”.

Now, at 31, he is exactly that to a new generation of swimmers from Mexico and from the Americas, as it could be perceived during the last Regional Sports Training (RST) organized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) at the beginning of October, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, with the objective of  strengthening and promoting the Paralympic Movement in the region.    

“What my participation in the course can give to the younger participants, is that they can see my trajectory within the Paralympics and be inspired. Later on they will have the chance to do that themselves. This is a chain and we all contribute”, the Para swimmer said.  

Hernández told that he never imagined that he would even share the Rio 2016 pool with Reyes, in the last Paralympic run for the latter, before hanging the wetsuit.

“When I met him the first time it was amazing. You can see him on TV, but then saying hi and later having him as a teammate was surreal. This could happen with me later. That is why the Paralympic Movement is so cool, it unites”.

Dreams and successes 

‘Chucho’, as he is popularly called, has a cerebral palsy and a congenital shoulder malformation and damage to L4 since birth, which affects his mobility in both upper and lower limbs. And as many of his fellow athletes, he has embraced his disability and fought to achieve his sporting dreams.  

“When I knew that I was going to my first Paralympics, the feeling was like 'oh, wow, I made it’. It had looked impossible before. But when you dream and work and fight for what you want, is amazing. I broke my own beliefs of what I thought a person with a disability could achieve.”

“And then winning a medal… I remember it and makes me emotional, because it trascends you. Coming from a place that you have to accept yourself everyday, fight against indifference, overcome many things and then conquer what you have dreamt, is extraordinary”.  

The Para swimmer added that the winning performances gave him more self confidence into believing that he could impact others lives and inspire them, just like he did to the other 20 young swimmers that participated beside him in the Regional Sports Training held in his home country.  

“What I can say (to the newcomers) is to dream, to believe and fight, because that is life. You have to believe what you are dreaming of. And through that hard work, you can achieve it. After that happens, you can share your achievements and get to more people. It is a cycle”.

Nevertheless, 'Chucho' is not finished yet. Shortly, in November, he will participate in the Para Panamerican Games in Santiago, Chile, where he will pursue the time to qualify to Paris 2024. He is also defending the titles obtained in Lima 2019, in 50m backstroke S4 and 50m breaststroke SB3. 

“Definitely I will try to improve all my times. But I am somebody that always goes for everything, so if I get to a final, I will try to ‘eat the world’ and get to the podium”, he concluded. 

Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will be celebrated from 28 August to 8 September. Tickets to swimming events to possibly follow Hernández and also to other sports can be purchased here: Paris 2024 Official Ticketing – Olympic and Paralympic Games.