Fernando Álvarez (sailor)
Spanish adaptive sailor (born 1973)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fernando Álvarez Ortiz de Urbina (born 17 November 1973) is a Spanish adaptive sailor who has represented Spain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics where he came away with a Paralympic diploma.
Personal
Álvarez is a member of Fundación También.[1] In March 2011, he was part of a delegation who went to the Zarzuela Palace and were received by Felipe de Marichalar y Borbón and Letizia, Princess of Asturias. It was part of a wider program aimed at integration of people with disabilities in Spanish society through sports.[2][3]
Sailing
Ortiz encouraged Carolina Lopez Rodriguez to take up sailing more seriously.[4] The pair were not confident they would qualify for London but decided to take part in qualifying tests anyway and were pleasantly surprised to qualify for the Games.[4] He was a member of the 2011 Spanish adaptive sailing team in the Skud 18 class event.[1] He qualified for the London Games by September 2011.[1] That month, he competed in the Spanish 2.4mR Cup.[1] He left for London from Madrid in late August.[1][5] He competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in the Mixed Two Person SKUD18 event, where he did not medal.[6][7][8] In two sessions, the pair finished in seventh place.[9] The pair earned a Paralympic diploma. It was the best performance ever by Spanish sailors.[10] In December 2012, they were recognised for their elite sportsmenship by the Union of Sports Federations Madrid.[10]
