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Andrea Estrella is first Filipina blind athlete who swept 5 medals at Trifecta World Championship

ABS-CBN News Digital Intern

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1734146757956Screenshot 2024-12-14 112532.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Andrea Estrella with her three finisher medals. MANILA — Andrea Estrella, a 21-year-old visually impaired athlete, won multiple medals at the Trifecta World Championship in Sparta, Greece last November 1 to 3. </div>The competition was held over three days, with a Spartan Sprint, a 5-km race with 20 obstacles, on the first day. On November 2, they had to complete the Spartan Super, which was a 10-km run with 25 obstacles.On the final day, they competed in the Spartan Beast.Estrella won three finisher medals from the three-day race and also bagged a major medal known as the Trifecta for finishing all three races.&quot;This is the start of everything,&quot; Estrella said.“Sa ilalim kasi ng bawat medal is merong wedge. One third yun. So pag pinagsama-sama mo yung tatlong wedges na &#x27;yun kasi magnetic yung wedges, pag pinagdikit-dikit mo yung three wedges na yun sa ilalim ng super, sprint and beast, nakakabuo ka rin ng isang trifecta doon. So parang lumalabas yung medals is five,” she explained.Other than the five medals, she was also able to bring home the delta trophy, a triangle trophy that honors her as a podium finisher.“So far pinakamalaking achievement ko is makapag-race ng tatlong sunod-sunod na araw kasi sa totoo lang di din po talaga biro yun na three consecutive days tas pahaba ng pahaba yung distance, sa totoo lang po lahat ng race hindi talaga madali,” she said.Estrella trained her strength and conditioning for the three-day race to train her body strength. She also had an endurance training to ensure sustenance of strength from changing distances.<div>From the starting line: Where it all began</div>Estrella&#x27;s journey began in 2019 when her friend Gerald, who was an OCR (Obstacle Course Races) athlete, invited her. It was then that she met her Coach Ron, who has mentored her ever since.She had the opportunity to attend an obstacle course event at Luneta Grandstand with her friend in 2019, which inspired her to keep going. The same year, she began training for her first obstacle proficiency under the guidance of Coach Marky, OCR&#x27;s official head coach for adapted or para-athletes.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/video/life/09/26/23/visually-impaired-athlete-nag-uwi-ng-gintong-medalya">READ: &#x27;Tao Po&#x27;: Visually-impaired National Athlete nag-uwi ng gintong medalya mula OCR World Championship sa Belgium</a></div>Being a five-year athlete and a college student, Estrella shared that juggling her studies and sports is challenging but she does her best to balance everything by having a daily routine.“Ang ginagawa ko na talaga is unahin lang talaga muna yung studies. Kasi may time talaga na nag-deteriorate ako... So sabi niya (her mother) sa akin, ‘sige let&#x27;s try this again. Kung di mo talaga kaya, okay, whether you like it or not, mag-stop tayo dito.’ Eventually, nagawa ko naman po na balance lahat. So studies muna and then training,” the para-athlete said.As a person with a disability (PWD), Andrea shared that being an OCR athlete has helped her in many ways.She was able to experience things and seize every chance that was presented to her.She also believes any PWD can achieve what she has accomplished if athletics is for them.“Kung passion niyo talaga siya, go for it. Huwag niyo isipin na hindi niyo kaya,” she said.

Andrea Estrella, a 21-year-old visually impaired athlete, won multiple medals at the Trifecta World Championship in Sparta, Greece last November 1 to 3.

Andrea Estrella, a 21-year-old visually impaired athlete, won multiple medals at the Trifecta World Championship in Sparta, Greece last November 1 to 3.

Visually impaired Filipina brings home multiple medals from Trifecta World Championship

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Visually impaired Filipina brings home multiple medals from Trifecta World Championship

ABS-CBN News Digital Intern,

Dorothy Del Rosario

Published Dec 14, 2024 12:55 PM PHT

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Andrea Estrella

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