Desirée Vila Bargiela
Desirée Vila Bargiela (born 15 June 1998) is a Paralympic athlete and former acrobatic gymnast who competes in international level events.[1]
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 June 1998 Gondomar, Spain |
| Home town | Vigo, Spain |
| Height | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  |
| Sport | Paralympic athletics |
| Disability class | T63 |
Sport accident
On 26 February 2015, Vila was doing gymnastics practice at the 2015 European Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships and broke her right tibia and fibula and compressing her popliteal artery which resulted in her right leg amputated above the knee and was forced to quit the sport after only being a professional acrobatic gymnast for three years prior to her injury. Her family filed a lawsuit for medical negligence against the doctor and the hospital where Vila was treated, the doctor was sentenced to two years in prison and received a four-year suspension, the family were given a €2 million compensation. However, in 2019, the doctor's jail sentence and suspension were revoked and the compensation was reduced.[2][3]
Paralympic athletics career
Vila took up Paralympic athletics at the age of nineteen after being encouraged by a friend. She competed for her country at the World Para Athletics European Championships and the World Para Athletics Championships where she competed in sprinting and long jump events, her highest achievement is ending at sixth place in the women's long jump and the 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships in Berlin.[4]
References
- "Desiree Vila Bargiela - IPC Athlete Bio". ipc.infostradasports.com. 26 August 2020.
- "Desiree Vila: "Amputation brought me more good things than bad" (in Spanish)". Marca. 19 March 2020.
- "The story of overcoming Desiree Vila: she lost a leg training and is now champion of adaptive athletics". tuotrodiario. 17 June 2020.
- "Desiree Vila reinvents herself". World Para Athletics. 2 January 2020.