Rodrigo Fernando Lopez

Started: He began learning how to ride a bike at age one. He started competing in mountain bike at age 15. (Athlete, 29 Aug 2024; paradeportes.com, 10 Aug 2021) Reason: "[At age seven months] my father Juan Carlos took me on his bike through the neighbourhood. One year later I was given a little bike with little wheels and I never stopped." (paradeportes.com, 10 Aug 2021) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Facebook profile, 02 Dec 2023) Milestones: He won Argentina's first cycling medal at the Paralympic Games when he claimed bronze in the men's CP3 road race / time trial at the 2004 Games in Athens. He added another bronze in the men's C1 3km pursuit at the 2012 Games in London to become the first Argentinian cyclist to win more than one career medal at the Paralympic Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 21 Jul 2024) Awards: In 2021 he received a Merit Diploma as one of the Best Sportspeople of the Decade [2010-19] in Argentina from the Konex Foundation. (analisisdigital.com.ar, 18 Jan 2021) He was flag bearer for Argentina at the opening ceremony of the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto, ON, Canada. (clarin.com, 07 Jun 2015) In 2014 he was named Illustrious Citizen in Colon, Argentina. (elentrerios.com, 04 May 2014) Additional Info: PARALYMPIC ADVERSITY At the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, he had to overcome a late start in the 35km pursuit race after a misunderstanding with the start clock prevented him from being able to warm up. At the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, he crashed in the individual pursuit qualification round and needed assistance to recover, but came back to claim bronze in the final. "I started the race [in 2004] without warming up and, after half a lap, I ran out of air. But God gave me enough strength, my lungs filled with air, my legs got stronger and I managed to win bronze." (paralympic.org, 20 May 2014) RETIREMENT POSTPONED He competed at the 2024 Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, thinking that he would be retiring from the sport imminently. However, he was convinced to postpone his retirement. "I thought it would be my last world championships. When everybody heard about my retirement some coaches of other countries as well as officials from the International Cycling Union asked me for a little bit more time. The Argentina coach also told me to think about it. And my times were good, so I decided to carry on, for now. I have many goals for after Paris [the 2024 Paralympic Games]. I'm going to focus 100% on something that I began during the [COVID-19] pandemic, which is my autobiography. There are some details to wrap up. I also would like to stay involved in sports, as a motivational speaker for young athletes." (analisisdigital.com.ar, 03 Apr 2024) TRAINING CENTRE He runs Track Cycling Colon, a cycling training group in Argentina. (Instagram profile, 10 Dec 2023; Track Cycling Colon Instagram profile, 09 Jun 2023)

Sporting Relatives: His father Juan Carlos Lopez has coached the Argentinian national Para cycling team. (paradeportes.com, 07 May 2017; clarin.com, 07 Aug 2015)