[Archive 2013-08-15] Wikinews interviews Spanish Paralympic swimmer Deborah Font

Historical archive — originally published 2013-08-15. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Last Friday at Madrid–Barajas Airport, Wikinews interviewed Spanish Paralympic swimmer Deborah Font, who is competing at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships that started this Monday in Montreal, Canada. Font has finished second in Monday's Women's 100 meter Freestyle S12 Heat 1, before going on to finish fourth in the Women's 100 meter Freestyle S12 Final with a time of 1:03.20, less than a second behind bronze medalist German Naomi Maike Schnittger.

((Wikinews)) I'm Laura Hale, I'm interviewing Deborah Font for Wikinews. Deborah is going to the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal. You're already a Paralympic medallist, right? You've won several medals at the Paralympics before?

Deborah Font: I won two medals in Sydney [2000 Summer Paralympic Games], a gold medal and bronze medal; in Athens [2004 Summer Paralympic Games] two silver medals and one bronze medal; in Beijing [2008 Summer Paralympic Games] one bronze medal; and in London [2012 Summer Paralympic Games] one bronze medal. Seven in Paralympic Games.

Deborah Font: I can see those next to me, but not perfectly. I see those near to me, but not those far from me.

((WN)) Do you think about other swimmers when you swim, or is it a disadvantage because you cannot see swimmers farther away?

Deborah Font: I swim against myself, I don't see the other swimmers too much. My race, myself, I go inside myself.

((WN)) How difficult is it to swim in Spain for Paralympic swimmers when you don't have sponsors?

Deborah Font: We have a Paralympic Committee. It's difficult having sponsors in Spain. For the Olympics, athletes don't have many sponsors, and for Paralympics it's more difficult.

((WN)) Is swimming more competitive in Barcelona, in Madrid...? Where do you think the best swimmers come from?

Deborah Font: There are more possibilities for training in good swimming pools. The "Centros de Alto Rendimiento" [High Performance Centres] are in Madrid or Barcelona.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Wikinews interviews Spanish Paralympic swimmer Deborah Font by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.