Athletes on the front line

AS A KID, SUSANA RODRÍGUEZ wanted to do whatever her sister, Patricia, two years older, could do. Susana was born with a severe visual impairment due to albinism, while Patricia could see perfectly. But on playgrounds in the girls’ hometown of Vigo, northern Spain, when Patricia reached the highest, most complicated point of the jungle gym, it beckoned to Susana too, she says. “I would always try until I could do it too, without any help. I think that’s what created in me this eagerness to fight.”

That determination has powered the 33-year-old through twin careers in triathlons—long-distance races that combine swimming, cycling and running—and medicine, a field with major barriers to entry for visually impaired people. Even her resolve, though, might have been tested by the pandemic. When COVID-19 hit Spain early and hard, hospitals were driven to a state of collapse, and lockdowns made it impossible to train outside. The