THE ONLY GOLD MEDALIST OF ECUADOR BELIEVES THAT THERE IS MORE INCLUSION

Jos Mario is a winner by nature is a gold medalist from Ecuador who is grateful that
now there is more inclusion for people who have some kind of disability. Jos Javier
Mario Bermdez always liked sports. The lack of the left leg, affected by poliomyelitis at
3 years of age, never prevented him from playing soccer and lifting weights. As a child,
at home, he used to make small weights to exercise and become strong, to the point
that entering a gym became his main purpose. That goal was fulfilled when he was 16
years old, he entered a gym and in a short time he began to work as an instructor. At the
beginning of his career it was as if his gold medal did not exist, because no one gave
him the recognition he expected. "It was not treated with equality", athletes with
disabilities do not receive the recognition that conventional athletes did. " However, with
the passage of time, the government has implemented the Support Plan for Athletes
with Disabilities. At age 36, Jos trains for the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games. In
Santiago de Chile, he won the gold of the division 88 kilograms when lifting 180
kilograms. Message from Jos: "I think that people with disabilities, by nature, have the
character to overcome adversity."