Alejandro Navarro, the Malaga athlete with a 92% disability who has conquered a desert race in Spain

The Almeria sun in the south of Spain is unforgiving. In the middle of an arid and dusty landscape, with the wind hitting his skin, Alejandro Navarro pedalled without stopping. For 15 hours, this disabled athlete from Malaga made his way through La Desértica, one of the toughest ultra-marathons in the country, organised by the Spanish Legion. When he crossed the finish line, he had not only beaten the heat and the terrain: he had just made history as the first quadriplegic person to complete the challenge.

"I had been preparing for three years and that gave me confidence. But everything changes there: I don't sweat and the heat builds up inside. Every kilometre becomes a challenge against your own body". Aware of his limitations, Navarro and his team came up with ingenious strategies to survive the desert: a cool box full of ice, a water sprayer and a small car umbrella to protect his head. "Without that, it would have been impossible," he admits.

From the first metre, the race was a constant climb. Fifty-three kilometres of uninterrupted climbing, which punish even professional cyclists. "There is no training which prepares you for that," Alejandro admits. In one of the toughest sections, the team had to take a detour on an even steeper section. "Ninety per cent of the bikes, even the electric bikes, had to get off. My teammates were holding me from behind and from the sides to prevent the bike from tipping over. They were pulling, pushing and I kept pedalling."

The strain took its toll. The carbon fibre gloves cut off his circulation, his hands went numb and his arms hurt so much that he needed constant stops for massages and to cool down. "It was dangerous, your hand goes white, no blood. But they gave me breaks and I carried on. I knew that if I stopped, I wouldn't start again". The reward came at the end: fifteen hours later, exhausted but victorious.

Completing such a race requires almost obsessive preparation. The Malaga-born athlete trains mornings and afternoons for four hours and in the months leading up to the competition he does ten or twelve hours. "People see the day of the race, but not the work behind it," he explains. "I'm dependent, I need help for everything, but my family and my team are always there. My body is delicate, any mistake can cost me dearly. But my motivation is to take the 'dis' out of the word disability. What I have is capacity, different, but capacity nonetheless.

His team is made up of six former legionnaires, his brother and two doctors from the Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos who accompanied him all the way. "They are my brothers, my arms, my legs. They give up everything: their time, their families, their weekends. That is priceless. Among them was a doctor from the hospital, who was coordinating from the support vehicle. "Knowing they are there, that they know my body and how to treat it, gives me enormous peace of mind," he confesses.

On this occasion, his efforts raised 2,000 euros for URA Clan, an inclusive rugby team from Almeria that integrates players with and without disabilities. "I am lucky, I can live on my pension as a former national police officer. But there are people who can't pay for their therapies or adapted equipment. Doing these challenges serves to give them visibility and help them," he explains calmly.

In Estepona, where he lives, Navarro is already working on a new project: a free inclusive sports club for people with disabilities. "We don't want anyone to stay at home thinking they can't. Sport releases dopamine, endorphins, joy. We all have the right to feel that," he says. The town hall has given him a space to organise adapted activities such as bocce (an inclusive version of petanque) and to promote accessible sports days on the Costa del Sol.

Three years of training, endless hours of effort and a message that transcends any goal: "We are not people with disabilities, we are people with soul, with strength, with a different way of facing life". Alejandro Navarro sums it up with his serene smile, the same one he took to the desert: "It's not about being first, but about showing that limits only exist until someone crosses them".