Sebastián Rodríguez Veloso (; born on 27 February 1957) is a Spanish

Paralympic swimmer Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming (sport), swimming for athletes with disability, disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Swimming at the Summer Paralympics, Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions through ...

. He has competed at four Paralympic Games winning fifteen medals: eight gold, four silver and three bronze. His attendance at the Games was controversial after it was revealed that he had been jailed for bomb attacks while a member of

First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups The First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups () was a Spanish clandestine Marxist–Leninist group aiming for the formation of a Spanish Republican state. The group was anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, and strongly opposed Spain's me ...

(GRAPO).

Early life and criminal activities

Rodríguez was born in Cadiz,

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, Spain on 27 February 1957. He is nicknamed Chano. In the 1980s he was a member of the Spanish terrorist organisation

(). In 1984, at the age of 26, he was jailed for 84 years for his role in the murder of Seville business leader Rafael Padura and a series of bomb attacks. In 1990 while in prison he went on

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

for 432 days, leaving his health permanently damaged and resulting in him losing the use of his legs. He was released on parole from prison in 1994 under a Spanish law which says that the seriously ill should not be jailed, and in 2007 he was pardoned by the

Spanish Government The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the o ...

Swimming

Rodríguez is an S5 swimmer. In his swimming career, he has earned over 20 total medals. His training base is

Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...

. In 2010, Rodríguez competed at the Tenerife International Open. Rodríguez competed at the 2010 Adapted Swimming World Championship in the Netherlands. In advance of the competition, he attended a swimming camp with the national team that was part of the Paralympic High Performance Program (HARP Program). He competed at the 2011 IPC European Swimming Championships in Berlin, Germany. He earned a gold medal. He almost finished first in the 4x50 meter freestyle relay with teammates Richard Oribe, Alvaro Bayona and Jordi Gordillo but a bad touch led to disqualification. He competed at the

2013 IPC Swimming World Championships The 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships was the seventh IPC Swimming World Championships, an international swimming competition, the biggest meet for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Montreal, Quebec, ...

Paralympics

Rodríguez first competed at the

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

at the

2000 Sydney Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. He took part having told Spanish officials that he lost his legs in a traffic accident, but in reality he had lost the use of his legs while in prison. He won five gold medals at the Games and set four new world records. Three of his golds came in individual freestyle events in the S5 classification, as he set world records in the 50 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres. He also won gold medals as part of the Spanish relay teams in the 4×50 m freestyle 20 pts and the 4×50 m medley 20 pts, setting a new world record in the freestyle relay. The truth about how he came to be disabled was revealed by a Spanish newspaper during the Games, which led to calls for him to return his medals; however, his participation was backed by politicians from his home town. At the

2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 28 September ...

held in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Greece, Rodriguez won a further three gold medals. He successfully defended his titles in the 50 m, 100 m and 200 m freestyle events, setting new world records in the final of each event. In 2008 he competed in his third Paralympics at the Beijing Games in China. Rodríguez won four medals: silvers in the 200 m freestyle and the 4×50 m freestyle 20 pts, and bronze medals in the 50 m freestyle and the 4×50 m medley relay 20 pts. His fourth Paralympic appearance came at the 2012 Games in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He won three medals at the Games; silvers in the 50 m freestyle and 200 m freestyle, and a bronze in the

100 m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

References

External links