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INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE

Jose Airan Fernandez Rodriguez

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Spain
Powerlifting

Biography

Impairment information

Type of Impairment
Spinal Cord Injuries
Origin of Impairment
Acquired

Further personal information

Residence
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, ESP
Occupation
Consultant, Student
Languages
Spanish
Higher education
Physical Education - University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Spain

Sport specific information

Why this sport?
"I found it [powerlifting] when I was playing basketball because I had to gain muscle and get strong to pull the chair. From there, several members of the team started to lift weights. We saw that we were not bad and we also started to compete in powerlifting."
Club / Team
ADEMI Tenerife: Spain
Name of coach
Isaac Rojas [personal]; Domingo Garcia [national]
Training Regime
He trains for a minimum of two hours a day in between studying.

General interest

Sporting philosophy / motto
"My idol is me, and I always want to defeat myself." (periodismoull.es, 14 Jul 2017)
Other sports
He has also competed in wheelchair basketball and wheelchair badminton. He played semi-professional football for Cadiz in Spain prior to his accident. (periodismoull.es, 14 Jul 2017; eldia.es, 26 Oct 2005)
Ambitions
To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo in either wheelchair badminton or powerlifting. (periodismoull.es, 14 Jul 2017)
Impairment
He injured his spinal cord in a traffic accident in 2000. "My life changed for the better compared to when I walked, even though it was a negative moment. It is sport who has made me what I am." (eldia.es, 26 Oct 2005; periodismoull.es, 14 Jul 2017)
Other information
OCCUPATION
He works for the regional government of Tenerife, Spain as a consultant in accessibility. (Twitter profile, 15 Oct 2017)

OTHER STUDIES
He has studied medicine at the University of La Laguna in Tenerife, Spain. (Facebook profile, 26 Jun 2017)