Rebeca Duarte

Started: She took up the sport in 2016. (INDES El Salvador YouTube channel, 21 Dec 2023) Reason: She wanted to represent El Salvador in international competition. She tried archery, athletics, and swimming before taking up wheelchair basketball. In 2016 she was invited to start playing boccia. (INDES El Salvador YouTube channel, 21 Dec 2023) Ambition: To win a medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (goes.indes.gob.sv, 23 Nov 2023) Milestones: She became the first boccia player representing El Salvador to win a medal in the world championships by claiming silver in the women's BC2 at the 2022 edition of the tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Mar 2024; goes.indes.gob.sv, 23 Nov 2023) She became the first Salvadoran boccia player to win a medal at the Parapan American Games by securing silver in the women's BC2 at the 2023 Games in Santiago, Chile. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Mar 2024; goes.indes.gob.sv, 23 Nov 2023) Awards: She and powerlifter Herbert Aceituno were El Salvador's flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (medias.paris2024.org, 28 Aug 2024) She was named Para Sportswoman of the Year in El Salvador in 2022 and 2023. (INDES El Salvador X profile, 11 Dec 2023; elgrafico.com, 10 Dec 2023; periodicoequilibrium.com, 13 Dec 2022; Secretaria de Prensa El Salvador Instagram profile, 11 Dec 2022)