Gustavo ‘Guga’ Ortiz’s life took a sharp turn following a serious accident in 2017. Almost six years following the event, the Chilean returned to doing what he loves the most and reflected on everything that happened. Despite everything, he feels lucky and also inspires those around him.
Little ‘Guga’ Ortiz was twelve years old, he liked ice cream and also bicycles. With a quiet and orderly profile, as his acquaintances attest, he maintains that profile to this day and even showed that quality when his life took a radical turn six years ago.
A catastrophic accident on August 12, 2017, while he was training at the Canada’s Whistler Parkmeant a before and following for Gustavo Ortiz.
A bad maneuver, together with the speed of his bicycle, fractured a vertebra in the backwhich left him without mobility from his abdominal area downwards. did not walk once more.
Despite that, his passion for the sport did not wan and even more so, your desire to get ahead.
Between reflections and learning
“There is no single way to see things, you have to face the problems”, said the national exponent to BioBioChile. And that applies both to his life, as well as to the practice of sport.
“Before, I enjoyed cycling as a competition and today, I take it as an adventure”, he pointed. And in that line, a project was born that brought him back to the slopes: an adapted vehicle.
This type of adapted bicycle consists of a swheelchair with special specifications for outdoor terrain and also, designed with a electric motor that reaches speeds similar to those of a mountain bikecaught the interest of the former Chilean enduro monarch.
Thus, in combination with his budget and the help of brands such as Multibike, Specialized and RedBull, the outdoor bicycle came to stay in the hands of the sampedrino.
“Canada took away a stage of my life, but opened another”
At this point, remembering aspects of his accident, marked by strong coverage of his case and even negotiations between the Chilean and Canadian governments to manage his return to Chile, is a closed chapter for Gustavo Ortiz.
In fact, the rider confessed that he returned to the place where his life changed and from there, he turned an important page in his life.
“It was relieving. I thought something stronger was going to happen to me. I closed that cycle almost like a release”. For ‘Guga’ Ortiz there was no fear or sadness, just a desire to run. He did so.
Likewise, the 26-year-old also commented on the fundamental role of his steps through Telethon and working with kinesiologists for his recovery. There and later, sport was once once more present: he exchanged experiences and, according to him, he acquired “other ways of seeing life”.
“It’s crazy, there are many stories and other points of view. That’s what gives you an idea that there is no one way to see things. In fact, I traveled to Canada last year and met people who had a disability and did the same as me, that was very fulfilling for me, ”she said.
At the same time, and true to his style, Ortiz takes the fact that his case is cataloged as an example with moderation.
“Problems will always be there and I have learned that you have to rescue the positive. It’s rewarding to motivate other people, but I think we all have our struggles and our own ways of dealing with them. That’s also brave.”.
While he is working at Multibike, the Chilean confessed that he is still ‘bitten by the bug’ for racing once more and is aiming for more, expressing his desire to participate in adapted cycling in Spain.
Of course, ‘Guga’ is currently focused on enjoying his new stage, which makes him reflect from time to time.
“Sometimes I start to analyze what happened to me and it’s strange, because the happiest days I’ve had on a bike once more have been in Canada. I think he slammed one door shut for me, but he opened anotherOrtiz added.
“I feel lucky that my accident happened doing what I love”he said in interviews granted in 2017. To this day, Gustavo Ortiz maintains that motto.
And it is that, in some way or another, the ‘Guga’ continues to be the same as every time he flies on the track, he finds the reason to face life with a smile at destiny.
