PB is Growing
History-Making Achievement
BY BETSY KENNISTON, USAPA AMBASSADOR, TOLEDO, OH
I
n the Third
International
Pickleball
Tournament in Holland,
Carmen Lopez from
Madrid, Spain, won
the bronze medal!
It was a history-
making achievement.
Carmen is the first
Down syndrome
athlete to both play
in an international
tournament and win
a medal! Carmen said of her accomplishment, “I feel proud and
excited, and enjoyed it a lot!”
Carmen is the youngest in her large family. Supported by her
siblings and parents, Ana and Enrique, she’s played other racket
sports including tennis, badminton, and padel, and has won
several medals in adapted sports competitions.
She was introduced to pickleball when her sports teacher,
Concha Delgado Raso of Fundación Alas Madrid, an organization
supporting adults with intellectual disabilities, and Gema
Garcia Rodriguez, President of Madrileña Pickleball Asociación,
organized a pickleball event.
Fundación Alas believes the sport is of great importance in
life, and pickleball is now played by all at Alas. Carmen and
Concha were chosen by the Alas team to attend the Amsterdam
tournament with the Spanish team, who quickly learned to play
inclusively and embrace their new pickleball friends.
At the Holland tournament, Carmen was selected to receive
a special traveling paddle award for her accomplishment. This
honor, which started at the Espoo, Finland, tournament in
2017, travels to each European tournament and is awarded to a
European player whose accomplishments stand out from the rest.
Carmen was thrilled to be chosen, and there were few dry eyes
as she made her acc