1. Teresa Perales Fernandez was born on 29 December 1975 and is an S2 classified Spanish swimmer, politician and motivational speaker who has won a total of 28 Paralympic medals at the 2000,2004,2008,2012,2016,2020 and 2024 Summer Paralympics.
59 Facts About Teresa Perales
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Teresa Perales is the most decorated Spanish Paralympian in history, and holds the current Paralympic record in women's 100m freestyle following the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
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In 1995, at the age of nineteen, Perales was diagnosed with neuropathy and lost the use of her legs within three months.
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Teresa Perales later had a child with him following the 2008 Games.
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Teresa Perales has supported a number of causes including Doctors Without Borders, Fundacion Carlos Sanz and Fundacion Vicente Ferrer.
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Teresa Perales then went on to compete in the 1999 European Championship, 2000 Summer Paralympics, 2001 European Championships, 2002 IPC World Championship, 2004 Summer Paralympics, 2006 IPC World Swimming Championship, and 2008 Summer Paralympics.
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Teresa Perales took a break from swimming following the 2008 Games to give birth to her son.
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Teresa Perales returned to the pool in 2011 for the European Championship and then competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
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Teresa Perales earned at least one medal in every Paralympics, European Championship, and World Championship in which she competed.
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Teresa Perales has earned several other honors including being named the Woman of the Year by the Spanish women's magazine Mujer hoy.
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Teresa Perales has one sibling, a brother, who is seven years younger than her.
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Teresa Perales has very little leg strength and no sensation in her legs, and if she cuts herself while shaving her legs, she cannot feel the cut.
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Teresa Perales earned a Diploma in Physiotherapy, which she earned from the Universidad de Zaragoza where she was a student from 1996 to 1999.
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Teresa Perales is married to Mariano Menor and has one child, a son.
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Teresa Perales met her husband, a journalist, during the 2000 Sydney Paralympics because he was interviewing her.
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Teresa Perales proposed to Perales at the Eiffel Tower following a taxi ride to the location and a limo ride back to a Paris hotel.
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Teresa Perales married him in 2004 after the Athens Paralympics.
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Teresa Perales had problems selecting a wedding dress because some interfered with her ability to roll in her wheel chair.
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Teresa Perales got married in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in 2005.
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Teresa Perales stood up from her wheelchair in order to take her vows.
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Teresa Perales had her son after the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
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Teresa Perales served as the directora general for Ayuda a la Dependencia in 2003 after having been approached to run following her success at the Sydney Paralympics.
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Teresa Perales served as the Deputy of Cortes de Aragon from June 2003 to February 2006.
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Teresa Perales left office in 2007, has no plans to return and does not consider herself very political.
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Teresa Perales ventured back into politics on a symbolic level in 2011 when she was on the ballot for PAR as a member of the Congress of Deputies.
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Teresa Perales has served as the CEO of Care Dependence on the Government of Aragon.
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In 2007, Teresa Perales co-wrote an autobiography with her husband about her life titled Mi Vida Sobre Ruedas, attending at least one event to promote the book.
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Teresa Perales spent two years teaching at the Universidad de Zaragoza.
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Teresa Perales has spoken at the Universidad San Jorge de Zaragoza.
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Teresa Perales was the president of Fundacion Pilotos 4x4 sin Fronteras from 2004 to 2006.
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Teresa Perales has visited the desert several times, and faced difficulties using the toilet, and solved this problem by creating a special chair for this which involves a robe and a hole in the bottom of the chair.
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Teresa Perales was active in supporting Madrid's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
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Teresa Perales has supported efforts by Doctors Without Borders to provide a treatment on avoiding the spread of AIDS from breastfeeding mothers to their offspring.
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Teresa Perales was a major sponsor for December 2012 Gala Solidaria Deportivo-Benefica, which benefitted Fundacion Carlos Sanz, an organisation that helps feed the hungry in Aragon.
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Teresa Perales is a S5, SB4, SM5 classified Paralympic swimmer and is a member of CD Asser: Spain.
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Teresa Perales is the most decorated Spanish Paralympian in history.
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When training, Teresa Perales can spend up to four or five hours at a time in the pool and an hour in the gym for a training day lasting up to six hours.
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Teresa Perales took up swimming at the age of 19 at a pool in Salou by accident and stuck with the sport because she liked the feeling of being weightless in the water.
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Teresa Perales made her international debut a year later at the World Championships.
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Teresa Perales's performance helped Spain finish third overall in the medal count.
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Teresa Perales competed at four Paralympic Games: the 2000 Summer Paralympics, 2004 Summer Paralympics, 2008 Summer Paralympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics.
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Teresa Perales won her first medals at the 2000 Summer Paralympics, earning a bronze in the 100 and 200 m freestyle, bronze in the 50 m backstroke and 50 m freestyle, and a silver in the 50 m butterfly.
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At the 2004 Athens Games, aged 27, Teresa Perales won two gold medals, the first gold medals in her Paralympic career.
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Teresa Perales earned three bronze medals and a silver at the 2004 Games.
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Teresa Perales made the finals in every event she was scheduled to compete in, failing to medal only in the 4 x 50 freestyle relay 20 point event, in which her relay team finished fourth.
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Teresa Perales was one of three Argonese competitors representing Spain at the Games, and finished the Games as Spain's most decorated athlete.
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Teresa Perales finished the Games with eleven all-time Paralympic medals.
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Teresa Perales then won three more gold medals at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, where she won a bronze and a silver.
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Teresa Perales was the first Spanish athlete to earn two medals at the Games.
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Teresa Perales medaled in each of the 6 individual events in which she competed.
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Teresa Perales went on to take part in the 2016,2020 and 2024 Summer Paralympics, earning at least one medal in each.
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Teresa Perales was the first Spanish Paralympian to be awarded this honour, and the 34th person in the nation's history to receive the award.
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Teresa Perales has been awarded the Medalla de Oro de la Real Orden del Merito Deportivo and the Medalla al Merito Deportivo del Gobierno de Aragon.
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In September 2008, Teresa Perales was named the IPC Athlete of the Month.
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Teresa Perales's figure exceeds the limits sports to become a social relation that makes you feel proud to belong to that community.
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Teresa Perales was presented with a special award as part of the 2012 AS Award ceremony in Madrid hosted by the Spanish newspaper Diario AS.
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Teresa Perales was honored at the 2012 Fiestas del Pilar and gave the festival's opening speech.
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Teresa Perales was recognised as an exemplary citizen of her hometown in 2012.
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Since 2022, Teresa Perales has been a Global Advisor for the ACE Global Leaders of Excellence Network, which is a diverse platform of ACE Health Foundation, a non-profit organization in United States of America, for connecting highly accomplished and successful leaders globally committed to international leadership development, grounded in the premise that focused sharing of knowledge, expertise, and resources increases the probability of productive and powerful outcomes.