Gustavo Nieves

Gustavo Nieves Campello (born 9 March 1982) is a Spanish T12/B2 Paralympic athlete.

Losing his vision suddenly at 17, he left the sport of football for athletics.

Nieves was born on March 9, 1982 in Vilalba, Lugo.

Shortly after his birth, his parents emigrated to Germany.

He first raced competitively in 1998 Vigo half marathon.

He went on to compete at IPC European and World Championships.

His first competitive race was the 1998 Vigo half marathon.

He was a member of the Celta Vigo athletics club, then joined the Gymnastic Society of Pontevedra athletic club.

before leaving the club to join the Alejandro Gomez Athletics Club.

He also competed at the 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Paralympics, but did not medal in any of these Games.

Nieves competed in the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia where he finished sixth in the 10,000 meter race.

In the period between 2004 and 2012, Nieves was a student training to be a mining engineer at the University of Vigo.

His initial preference was to study biology but his vision issues meant he could not use a microscope, so he made the academic program switch.

He has a functional proficiency in English, and is able to argue with people in the language at athletic events.

Nieves is a T12/B2 track and field athlete, who took up athletics at the age of 17 following sudden onset vision loss.

With no one in his family having participated in the sport, he initially started the sport casually by running at a park in Castrelos Vigo.

He focused on his educational work in 2004 and did not compete 2004 Summer Paralympics.

He was trying to get the credentials that would enable him to get a job as athletics did not provide enough money for him to live off the sport.

Following the 2004 Games, more money was made available to Paralympic athletes and he was able to dedicate more time to the sport.

Competing at the 2008 Spanish national championships, Nieves finished first in the 10,000 meter T12 race.

He competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China.

Following the 2008 Games, he switched coaches to Pablo Diaz and joined Gymnastic Society of Pontevedra athletic club.

His father remained in Germany and was still there as of 2009, but Gustavo Nieves returned to Spain when he was five years old.

Nieves has a disability: he has partial vision.

He lost his vision when he was 17 years old.

The onset of vision loss was sudden and unexpected, and there is no clear reason why or if his vision will continue to deteriorate.

Prior to that, he played football as a midfielder for Sárdoma in Spain's División de Honor Juvenil de Fútbol, and had tried out for Celta de Vigo.

He quit the sport following the vision loss.

He based his 2009 training in Pontevedra and Lugo, where he continued to be coached by Pablo Diaz.

He competed in the 2009 Spanish national athletics championships.

At the 2009 IPC European Athletics Championships, he won two gold medals and one silver medal while setting a world record in the 10,000 meters.

His second gold was in the 5,000 meters and the silver was in the 1,500 meters.

In 2009, he set a world record in the T12 10,000 meter event during a race in Galicia.

In 2010, Nieves set a world record in the T12 10,000 meter race and then bettered his own world record 40 days later at a race in Jerez de la Frontera.

He competed in the 2011 Pontevedra half marathon.

In 2011, he injured the third metatarsal of the left foot as a result of athletics.

His physical therapy following the injury involved training in the pool.

He started competing again after the injury-imposed break in late September 2011 at a race in Berlin.

During the season, he had a goal of trying to prepare for qualifying for the 2012 Summer Paralympics.

In 2012, he was a recipient of a Plan ADO €2,500 coaching scholarship.