From being a volunteer in Rio to Olympic champion in Paris: Inspiring journey of Adriana Oliva

Chateauroux, Aug 1 (PTI) Adriana Ruano Oliva, who had her promising gymnastics career cut short by a spinal injury at the age of 16, resorted to volunteering to just experience the Olympic spirit at the 2016 Summer Games.

Eight years later, after an extraordinary turn of events, she is Guatemala's first ever Olympic champion and a record holder in a sport that she did not even like "at first" – trap shooting. She won the country's third ever medal in Olympic history on Wednesday.

Forced to quit artistic gymnastics in 2011, Adriana was left clueless about her future. Used to the training-school-training routine for years, she desperately wanted to stay connected with sport.

Her doctor said that the only sport that she could pursue without worsening her back was shooting.

With the help of her brother's friend who was a skeet shooter, the now 29-year-old got involved in the precision sport. Adriana did not like it at all initially but she says she tried to use it as "therapy" in the middle of a tough phase.

"My dream was to participate in the Olympics as a gymnast and yeah, unfortunately, the injury made me retire from gymnastics but right now I am in this sport and it's really incredible. Now I am grateful also for that injury because now I am here," Adrian told PTI.

Guatemala City has only one range and with the sport being neglected in the Central American country, Adriana was uncertain about making a living out of trap shooting.

Not seeing light at the end of the tunnel, Adriana applied to be a volunteer in the 2016 Rio Olympics and she says that was the time she found the fire to be a future Olympic champion.

"I applied to be a volunteer because I thought 'If I can't do Olympics as an athlete, I can do it maybe as a volunteer'. They put me in shooting and I was able to see my teammates.

"I was able to see the full competition and I think that was the moment that inspired me to say okay maybe it wasn't in gymnastics, I can do it here in shooting," recalled Adriana.

She made remarkable progress in the next four years and turned up at the 2020 Tokyo Games but things did not go as per plan as she finished at the bottom in the women's trap event.

Her father had died four weeks before the Games and that made the maiden Olympic experience even more emotional for Adriana, who swore to honour him with a better effort three years later.

Seeing her daughter hit 45 out of 50 shots from up there on Wednesday, her father would be a proud man.

"It was a really difficult moment for me (father's death). I did well to qualify for Tokyo but finished last. At the end of competition I felt, I was not honouring my father. So I came here (to Paris Games for putting an improved performance)," said Adriana.

The people who inspired in her hopeless phase was her best friend who too had to switch to taekwondo from gymnastics due to injury and the likes of Rafael Nadal, who has made multiple comebacks from injury.

"He (Nadal) inspired me a lot. Also, not just because he's a really good athlete, but also because he is a good person. And that's, I think, is the most important thing here in sports. It is not just about achieving your objectives, it is also about being a good person," said Adriana who also found time to complete an IOC Diploma in sports nutrition last year.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspending Guatemala also made life tougher for Adriana and a fellow shooter as they were already constrained in their training due to lack of ammunition.

"You know we are just two athletes in Guatemala and we only have one range. I hope we can have more support (following the Olympic gold). We are a small sport in Guatemala," added Adriana. PTI BS AH AH