Michelle Alonso facts for kids
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Nationality | ![]() |
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Born | Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain |
29 March 1994 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Michelle Alonso Morales (born 29 March 1994) is an amazing swimmer from Spain. She is often called "The Little Mermaid of the Canary Islands" by the media. Many people see her as one of the most important sports figures in Spain.
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About Michelle Alonso
Michelle Alonso was born on March 29, 1994, in Tenerife, which is one of the Canary Islands. She has an intellectual disability, which means her brain works a bit differently. This is why she competes in para swimming, a sport for athletes with disabilities. In 2012, she was living in Tenerife. In October 2013, Michelle received a very special award called the Gold Royal Order of Sports Merit. This award is given to people who have achieved great things in Spanish sports. Important people like Princess Elena attended the ceremony.
Michelle's Swimming Career
Michelle is an S14 classified swimmer. This classification is for athletes with intellectual disabilities. She is part of the Spanish Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability (FEddi). This group helps athletes with intellectual disabilities compete in sports.
In 2010, Michelle competed in the Tenerife International Open swimming event. In 2012, she also took part in the Paralympic Swimming Championship of Spain.
Paralympic Games Achievements
Michelle has won many gold medals at the Paralympic Games. These are huge international sports events for athletes with disabilities.
- At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, England, she won a gold medal. She swam the 100-meter breaststroke and set a new world record! Her time was 1 minute and 16.85 seconds.
- She won another gold medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the same event.
- Michelle won her third gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan. She broke her own world record again with a time of 1 minute and 12.02 seconds!
During the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Michelle had the honor of carrying the flag of Spain at the opening ceremony. This meant she led the whole Spanish team into the stadium!
World and European Championships
Michelle has also done very well at other big swimming competitions:
- In 2013, she won a gold medal at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal. This was for her favorite event, the 100-meter breaststroke.
- In 2014, she competed at the 2014 IPC Swimming European Championships. She won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke S14, breaking her own world record again!
- She earned a bronze medal at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow.
- At the 2016 IPC Swimming European Championships, she won another gold in the 100-meter breaststroke. She also got a bronze medal in the 200-meter freestyle at the same event.
- In 2022, she won another gold medal at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships in Madeira.
Michelle Alonso is a true champion who keeps breaking records and inspiring many people!
See also
In Spanish: Michelle Alonso para niños