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14991-Letticia Martinez photo

Letticia Martinez

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United States of America
Swimming

Biography

Impairment information

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment
Classification
S11, SB11, SM11

Further personal information

Residence
Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Occupation
Athlete, Student
Languages
English, Spanish
Higher education
Communications - New Mexico State University: Las Cruces, NM, USA

Sport specific information

When and where did you begin this sport?
She began Para swimming in 2009 at age 14 in Las Cruces, NM, United States of America.
Why this sport?
"I wanted to be on a sports team and swimming is one that I can participate in even though I am blind. I have also always liked swimming."
Training Regime
She trains for 25 hours a week at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America.

General interest

Hobbies
Listening to music, singing, spending time with family and friends. (teamusa.org, 01 Sep 2016)
Most influential person in career
Coach Terry Moore. (Athlete, 30 Oct 2011)
Hero / Idol
Her father. (Athlete, 30 Oct 2011)
Injuries
She had hip surgery in July 2017, which resulted in 10 months out of the pool. (BESE Youtube Channel, 21 Jun 2018; Instagram profile, 27 Feb 2018; Twitter profile, 27 Feb 2018)
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs
She takes a gel shot before every race and receives a pep talk from her father. (Athlete, 30 Oct 2011)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"When things don't go the way I planned or I'm having a hard week of practices, I just try to remind myself that it's okay to fail. If I didn't ever fail then I wouldn't experience some of the lessons I needed to learn. I have to always remind myself it is not necessarily about the outcome, it is about the journey, and it is okay to fall and to fail. I need to get up stronger than ever and keep pushing towards that end goal that I have in mind because I know that I can eventually get there." (oxygen.com, 08 Sep 2016)
Ambitions
To compete at multiple Paralympic Games, and win a Paralympic gold medal. (familyconnect.org, 05 Feb 2018; BESE YouTube Channel, 21 Jun 2018)
Impairment
She was diagnosed with Leber's congenital amaurosis [LCA] at age three. Her family is hopeful that advances in medical technology may one day allow her to get some of her vision back. (teamusa.org, 16 Jun 2013; Youtube interview, 22 Oct 2011)
Other information
EXPECTING A BABY
In July 2019 she announced in a public post via her Instagram account that she was 20 weeks pregnant with a baby girl. (Instagram profile, 11 Jul 2019)

Results

Unit Date Rank
London 2012 Paralympic Games (London, Great Britain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m Freestyle S11 Heat 3 2012-08-31 5
Women's 50 m Freestyle S11 Heat 3 2012-09-01 4
Women's 100 m Backstroke S11 Heat 2 2012-09-02 6
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB11 Final Round 2012-09-03 8
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB11 Heat 1 2012-09-03 4
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM11 Heat 2 2012-09-08 3
2013 IPC Swimming World Championships (Montreal, Canada)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m Backstroke S11 Final 1 2013-08-12 5
Women's 50 m Freestyle S11 Final 1 2013-08-13 5
Women's 50 m Freestyle S11 Heat 1 2013-08-13 5
Women's 100 m Freestyle S11 Final 1 2013-08-15 8
Women's 100 m Freestyle S11 Heat 1 2013-08-15 7
Women's 100 m Butterfly S11 Final 1 2013-08-16 4
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB11 Final 1 2013-08-17 4
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM11 Final 1 2013-08-18 5
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM11 Heat 2 2013-08-18 5
2015 IPC Swimming World Championships (Glasgow, Great Britain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m Freestyle S11 Heat 2 2015-07-13 5
Women's 100 m Freestyle S11 Final 1 2015-07-13 6
Women's 100 m Backstroke S11 Heat 2 2015-07-15 10
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM11 Heat 2 2015-07-16 5
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM11 Final 1 2015-07-16 6
Women's 50 m Freestyle S11 Heat 1 2015-07-17 5
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB11 Final 1 2015-07-18 4
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB11 Heat 2 2015-07-18 4
Women's 50 m Freestyle S11 Final 1 2015-07-19 5
Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m Backstroke S11 Heat 2 2016-09-09 7
Women's 50 m Freestyle S11 Heat 1 2016-09-12 3
Women's 50 m Freestyle S11 Swim-Off 2016-09-12 2
Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB11 Final Round 2016-09-13 6
Women's 100 m Freestyle S11 Heat 1 2016-09-15 4
Women's 100 m Freestyle S11 Final Round 2016-09-15 8
Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM11 Heat 2 2016-09-16 6