It was not going to be just another day at the Carlos Sáinz de los Terreros school in Puente de Vallecas. This Tuesday, December 3, was marked in red. For Disability Day they always plan a talk or activity aimed at helping the little ones internalize concepts such as inclusion. When the fifth and sixth grade students entered the Assembly Hall they found a surprise, the presence of judoka Álvaro Gavilán. “He is from Vallecano and Rayista,” Antonio Luquero, a journalist from Vallecaswebwhich aroused a great applause. From there, there was silence to follow Álvaro’s story.
“I was born near the Assembly. I could see well until I was 17, when I was diagnosed with Stargardt disease. I see well on the sides, but not in the center. I had always done judo, I have a black belt in judo and karate, so I continued practicing it. It is a very inclusive sport, because you train with peers without disabilities“, began. There were already hands raised. “Does your disease have a cure?” “Have you ever felt left out?” “Is there judo for people without arms?” The answer was the same: “No.” And Álvaro was surprised by the questions. He hadn’t even considered some of them himself.
To the video with the most emotional scenes of the 40 Spanish medals from the Paris Games and the song Win Twice In the background he was accompanied by all kinds of onomatopoeias. From “Halaaaa” to “Ohhhh”. The kids were impressed to see Teresa Perales and Iñigo Llopis swim, Ricardo Ten pedal, the points of Caverzaschi and De la Puente, the triumphant entry of Susana Rodríguez… Many different capacities. “There is a very good phrase from the previous president of the Spanish Paralympic Committee, which said: ‘Don’t invite me to the party, take me out dancing.’ It summarizes very well this integration process, which involves the involvement of everyone,” he explained. the athlete, who participated in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 and experienced Paris 2024 as head of social media for the CPE.
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Álvaro, who has a bronze medal in a World Cup to his credit, He also teaches classes at the ONCE Educational Resources Center and that was noticeable with the practical part of the talk. Several rounds with three volunteers: a girl, a boy and a teacher. The objective was to teach them some exercises without seeing. And for that, he took the kimono with which he qualified for the Tokyo Games. The children were amazed. “Paralympic judo is as strong or stronger than the other, because you start holding on to the sleeve and the lapel. That, with the tension, makes your forearms hurt after two minutes. We learn by imitation and that gets complicated without seeing. That’s where touch becomes important,” he reflected.
The judoka retired a couple of years ago, but he has found another motivation in his students. “When they manage to do the exercises it is very gratifying,” he said. One of the teachers, Saúl, agreed. “Sport makes children understand disability better,” said the teacher, to which Álvaro added: “Disability is learning to do things differently and this day demands a more accessible world for everyone.” During the talk, doubts were resolved, such as how much a prosthesis or an adapted chair can cost to compete or what the disability categories are in the Games. The kids learned and had fun and Álvaro won a gold medal, all of them surrounding him and asking for an autograph.
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