Mexican para-skier Arly Velásquez heads for his 5th Winter Paralympics

When the Winter Paralympics unfastened adjacent week successful Italy, Mexico’s delegation volition acceptable connected a azygous monoski.

Arly Velásquez, a 37-year-old para alpine skier from Cancún, volition beryllium the country’s lone jock astatine the Milan-Cortina Games, the 50th day of the Winter Paralympics. The opening ceremonial is March 6.

Mexico’s beingness astatine the Winter Paralympics has agelong been minimal, but this twelvemonth they volition person a one-man delegation acknowledgment to para-skier Arly Velásquez. (Conade)

More than 600 athletes are expected to vie crossed six sports, with China favored to apical the medals array again.

Although Mexico has won 328 medals, including 107 golds, successful the Summer Paralympics — with 67 athletes winning 17 medals astatine the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, including 3 golden medals — it has ne'er won a medal astatine a Winter Paralympics.

Moreover, its delegations person agelong been among the smallest successful the field. Since making its Winter Games debut successful 2006, Mexico has sent nary much than 2 athletes to immoderate edition.

This year, the full Mexican beingness volition beryllium Velásquez, who volition contention successful downhill connected March 7, super-G connected March 9 and elephantine slalom connected March 13 successful the LW10-1 sitting category.

The opening ceremonial volition beryllium held astatine Verona’s past Arena, a UNESCO World Heritage tract retrofitted with wheelchair ramps and accessible restrooms.

“Receiving the Mexican emblem connected my mode to my 5th Paralympic Games is simply a profound honor,” Velásquez said astatine a emblem ceremonial this week successful Mexico City. “Representing Mexico successful 5 Games is not by chance. It is the effect of discipline, resilience and reinventing myself physically and mentally clip and clip again.”

Velásquez is the Mexican jock with the astir appearances astatine the erstwhile 13 Winter Paralympics, having debuted astatine Vancouver 2010 and besides raced astatine Sochi 2014, Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022.

In Sochi, helium posted his champion Paralympics decorativeness ever, 11th successful super-G, earlier a clang successful his adjacent contention near him successful an induced coma for 3 days and forced a two-year interruption from competition.

After moving from Cancún to Mexico City arsenic a younker pursuing his parents’ divorce, Velásquez took up upland biking and became a nationalist champion astatine property 12.

At property 13, however, helium suffered a large mishap that near him with breached vertebrae and an irreversible spinal cord injury, according to the paper Milenio. He was told helium would ne'er locomotion again.

But astir property 15, helium began practicing wheelchair sports specified arsenic changeable put, basketball, javelin and swimming. 

On a travel to Canada a fewer years later, helium happened to spot Mexican Paralympic jock Armando Ruiz competing successful the slalom and elephantine slalom. That led him to question retired skis lessons.

Fourteen months later, helium was competing successful the 2010 Paralympic Games successful Vancouver. 

With reports from TV Azteca, Olympics.com, Associated Press and Conade