Ileana Rodriguez grew up in Cuba, in the waterfront city of Matanzas, famous for its beaches. She swam in the bay, then became a swimmer with the city’s team. She left swimming to study ballet, but ...

Ileana Rodriguez remembers two teachers who made a difference: the high school coach who saw she was an athlete, and the Paralympics coach who pushed her to top-level competition.

The USA's para-swimmer Ilena Rodriguez has won the election to act as the athlete representative to the Americas Paralympic Committee (APC) Executive Board by just four votes from her closest rival.