Manuel Ángel Martín facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Manuel Ángel Martín

Personal information
Nickname(s)	Manolo
Nationality	Spanish
Born	January 30, 1980 (1980-01-30) (age 45) Pórtugos, Granada, Spain
Sport
Country	Spain
Sport	Boccia
Disability class	BC2
Medal record Paralympic Games Bronze 2008 Beijing Individual BC2 Bronze 2008 Beijing Team BC1-BC2 World Championships Bronze 2010 Lisbon Team European Championships Silver 2009 Póvoa de Varzim Individual Bronze 2009 Póvoa de Varzim Team

Manuel Ángel Martín Pérez, born on January 30, 1980, in Pórtugos, Granada, Spain, is a talented Spanish boccia player. Many people know him as Manolo Martín. He has cerebral palsy, which means he is a BC2 class athlete in boccia.

Manolo has competed in the Paralympic Games, which are like the Olympics for athletes with disabilities. At the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China, he won two bronze medals. One was for the Individual BC2 event, and the other was for the Team BC1-BC2 event. He also competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, England.

In 2009, Manolo won a silver medal in individual competition at the European Championships in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. He also earned a bronze medal with his team at the same event. The next year, in 2010, he won another bronze medal in the team competition at the World Championships held in Lisbon.

What is Boccia?

Boccia is a sport designed for athletes with severe physical disabilities. It is similar to bocce or pétanque. Players throw or roll balls as close as possible to a target ball, called the "jack." Manolo Martín is a BC2 classified boccia player. This means he can throw the ball with his hands.

Manolo's Boccia Journey

Manolo's participation in boccia competitions has received support from organizations like Granada CF and the "Hazlo por todos" sports foundation. He is also a member of the Amics de la Boccia club.

In June 2010, Manolo won a bronze medal in the individual competition at the World Championships in Lisbon. The following year, in June 2011, he took part in the Spanish Boccia Club Championship in Elche, Spain. Representing ASPACE Granada, Andalucía, he finished second in the individual BC2 event.

Manolo also competed in the Boccia World Championships in August 2011. This event was important for athletes to qualify for the London Paralympic Games. Around Christmas 2011, he got an injury that made it hard for him to compete. Doctors found it difficult to identify the injury because of his existing medical conditions.

In January 2012, Manolo attended a special boccia training camp. This camp was organized by the Spanish Cerebral Palsy Federation of Sports (FEDPC) and the Spanish Sports Federation for Persons with Physical Disabilities (FEDDF). Twenty-four other boccia players from Spain joined him at CRE San Andrés. The camp helped the national team get ready for the London Paralympics. In June 2012, he competed in the Spanish national championships, organized by Club ADM and the Sociocultural Disability Association (ASCM). He then went on to compete at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where he lost 4–5 in the round of 16.

Recent Competitions

In 2013, Manolo participated in the third International Boccia Championships Pecanins Roser. He was part of the "rest of Spain" team, competing against a team from the Catalan region of Spain and a team from Great Britain. This event was a practice for the European Championships.

Manolo won the BC2 individual event against Zoe Robinson of Great Britain with a score of 11–4. He also won against Benito Sánchez of Catalonia. These two wins helped him reach the final, where he played against his Spanish national team teammate, Pedro Cordero Martin. Manolo won that match 3-2.

In June 2013, Manolo was part of Spain's team at the European Championships in Guimaraes, Portugal. By October 2013, he was ranked as Spain's top competitor in his BC2 classification. His team, which included Vicente Lletí, Raul Martí, and Sabrina Balen, was ranked number one in Spain.

See also

In Spanish: Manuel Ángel Martín para niños