When Rebollo was eight months old, he contracted polio with both legs affected, the right one severely. He competed in archery, representing Spain at the 1984, 1988, and 1992 Summer Paralympics. He won a silver in 1984, bronze in 1988, and a second silver in 1992.
The opening ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics featured the Olympic Flame being ignited from afar by a flaming arrow. Rebollo was one of 200 archers considered for the position of firing the arrow. There were sunrise practices, along with wind machines to simulate various weather conditions, and flaming arrows that would often singe fingers. He was among four finalists, and was chosen two hours before the event.[2]
There were no fears. I was practically a robot. I focused on my positioning and reaching the target. My feelings were taken from the people who described to me how they saw it. What they felt, their emotions, their cries. This is what made me realise what the moment actually meant.
— Antonio Rebollo, in a segment with NBC about the lighting of the cauldron during the opening ceremony of the 1992 Summer Olympics.[2]
