Ecuador's Kiara Rodriguez Breaks 13-Year World Record

Kiara Rodriguez stood on the track in New Delhi last year and did something no Ecuadorian athlete had ever done before: she ran herself into the history books and onto the world's biggest sports stage.

The 23-year-old Para athlete from Guayaquil just earned a nomination for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award. She's the first Ecuadorian ever nominated for the prestigious honor, which celebrates the world's greatest athletes across all sports.

Her journey to this moment started with three unforgettable races in New Delhi. Rodriguez swept all three of her events at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships, claiming gold in the 100m, 200m, and long jump for athletes with upper limb impairments.

The 200m race made headlines around the world. Rodriguez first broke a 13-year-old world record in the qualifying heats with a time of 24.37 seconds, beating the mark set at the 2012 London Paralympics. Two days later, she broke her own brand-new record with a 24.34-second finish to take gold.

"When I received the news, I felt a lot of pride – not only for myself, but for the entire journey and the people who have been with me," Rodriguez said about her Laureus nomination. She's competing against five other exceptional athletes, including Swiss wheelchair racer Catherine Debrunner.

Rodriguez grew up in humble circumstances in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city. She discovered Para athletics at age 12 after falling in love with volleyball as a child, and the sport transformed everything.

"Para sport has changed my life completely," she explained. "It changed everything around me and also myself: from the way I used to live to how I live now. It's responsible for the comfort my family and I have now."

Her medal collection tells the story of consistent excellence. At the Paris 2024 Paralympics, she won two gold medals in the 100m and long jump. She's now claimed four consecutive world championship titles in the long jump and holds the world record in that event too.

Why This Inspires

Rodriguez represents something bigger than athletic achievement. If she wins the Laureus award in Madrid on April 20, she'll become the first Para athlete with an upper limb impairment to receive the honor. Only one other athlete in that category has even been nominated in the award's 22-year history.

The Madrid trip might also fulfill a personal dream. Rodriguez's idol, Venezuelan triple jumper Yulimar Rojas, is nominated in a different category. When Rodriguez won gold in Paris, she dedicated her medal to Rojas, who missed the Olympics due to injury. The two share similar backgrounds: both raised in humble neighborhoods, both using sport to support their families.

"What I like the most is competing," Rodriguez said. "That is what I train for, to give my best in each event."

From a volleyball-loving kid in Guayaquil to Ecuador's most decorated Paralympian, Rodriguez keeps proving that dedication and heart can rewrite what's possible.