Mariela Analia Delgado

Started: She began cycling competitively at age 21 through the Asociacion Misionera de Ciclismo in Posadas, Argentina. She took up Para cycling in 2013. (a24.com, 09 Oct 2019; parati.com.ar, 02 Jan 2016; Athlete, 26 Aug 2024) Reason: She tried gymnastics, volleyball, and swimming when she was younger but her impairment made progress difficult in those sports. She initially got involved in cycling so that she could travel around her hometown of Posadas, Argentina. "I went to a bike shop and the owner was the president of the regional cycling federation. He suggested I try cycling at the velodrome, and there I was told I could do well. I began winning titles at national level and entered the non-Para national team. Then national Para cycling coach Martin Ferrari told me that in Para cycling I could compete against people in a similar situation to me." (a24.com, 09 Oct 2019; minutouno.com, 26 Jul 2017; paralympic.org, 08 Aug 2015) Ambition: To win a medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Athlete, 26 Aug 2024) Awards: In 2024 she received the Ernesto Gehrmann Award for Sports Excellence on the Misiones Provincial Sports Day in Argentina. (deportes.misiones.gob.ar, 05 Jun 2024) Additional Info: NON-PARA CYCLING She has represented Argentina in non-Para cycling and competed at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, ON, Canada. She has also raced for Weber La Segunda Ladies Power, a women's non-Para road cycling team made up of riders from Latin American nations, and in 2022 she had a seven-month stint in France where she competed with the Macadam's Cowboys team in Damelevieres. "Competing in non-Para cycling in Argentina helps me to maintain my level for when I compete overseas in Para cycling, because there are almost no Para cycling races in Argentina. Non-Para is where I began and I will always do it. I even compete against male riders whenever I can." (Deportv YouTube channel, 05 Jul 2023; todoapulmon-rafaela.com, 27 Dec 2021; a24.com, 09 Oct 2019)