Lisbeli Marina Vera Andrade

Started: She began to focus on Para athletics in 2014 in Maracaibo, Venezuela, when she moved to live with her uncle Erbenis Andrade. (paralympic.org, 14 Mar 2021; Athlete, 06 Nov 2019) Reason: At school in San Jose, Venezuela, she used to participate in athletics. After a coach saw her abilities he introduced her to Para athletics. "They discovered me in a street race. There were several coaches there, and among them was Leonel Cabezas. He was the one who saw me and recommended me to my coach Isidro Barthelemy." (paralympic.org, 14 Mar 2021; Athlete, 06 Nov 2019) Milestones: She became the first Venezuelan athlete to win more than one Paralympic gold medal when she triumphed in both the women's T47 100m and T47 200m events at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 02 Jul 2024) Additional Info: BUILDING CHARACTER As a child she was bullied due to her impairment, but she says it helped her build a strong character. "Since I was little I lived with my grandmother and my grandfather. I didn't tell them anything about what happened to me at school. They found out that I was being bullied when I had fought with a classmate or when the teachers stopped by the house and told them. Those jokes made me mature because I knew that at some point I was going to have to face life, that they weren't always going to protect me and that I had to fend for myself." (paralympic.org, 14 Mar 2021)