An athlete with cerebral palsy has made sports history by completing a marathon in Barcelona.
Alex Roca Campillo has described himself as having a 76% physical disability and is believed to be the first person with his level of disability to run a full marathon.
The 32-year-old runner - who was diagnosed with herpetic viral encephalitis at six months old - has reduced mobility, impaired movement, and exaggerated reflexes. He communicates through sign language.
On Sunday (March 19), Campillo ran 42.195km in five hours, 50 minutes, and 51 seconds. For an able-bodied man his age, the moderate completion time is usually four hours and 10 minutes.
Watch the incredible moment below:He shared a video on social media of the extraordinary moment he crossed the finish line in Spain as a crowd of supporters cheered him on.
In the heartwarming footage - which has since been viewed 7.6 million times and has 167.6K likes - he is seen falling to the floor in joy after finishing the race as the crowd roars before being presented with a medal for his achievement.
Campillo captioned the clip (which was translated from Spanish to English), writing: "I HAVE MADE HISTORY! First-person in the WORLD with a 76% disability who has managed to finish a MARATHON: 42, 195 km.
"This has been possible thanks to ALL my team. Thanks to ALL of you who have been cheering, I HAVE NO WORDS," he concluded in the post.
Among those congratulating the athlete was former sportsman Gary Lineker who shared the video with his 8.9 million followers and simply wrote "wonderful" with the applause emoji.
Other people on the platform applauded the Spaniard, with one user writing: "This is priceless! Love seeing victory stories like this. Makes my heart so happy and love seeing others enjoying what they do while living in the now."
Another user said: "What a legendary man you are! Hats off to you. Goosebumps."
A third person commented: "What a beautiful moment, huge achievement."
A fourth shared: "This video makes me proud to have cerebral palsy. Having a disability isn’t a bad thing you have to look at life from a different angle and reach your goals and dreams a different way. Don’t let your disability stand in your way to reaching your goals and dreams in life."
Before Sunday's victory, the runner had already taken part in five triathlons and four half marathons. This year, he ran the Granollers half-marathon and finished it in two hours, 45 minutes, and 16 seconds.
On February 19, the keen sportsman completed the Barcelona half-marathon in an incredible personal best time of two hours, 38 minutes, and 28 seconds.
Campillo has expressed what sports means to him on his website, penning: "For me, sport is very important in my day-to-day, because I see it as a lifestyle to improve myself.
"I believe that no one can put limits on you, but that the limits are set by yourself," he continued. "Apart from sport, I really enjoy giving talks and showing society that the limit is set by oneself, and at the same time raising awareness and bringing society closer to disability.
"I don't like that word at all, I like to see that we are people with different abilities and we like to be treated like others," he sweetly concluded.
Congratulations to Campillo on his fantastic victory!
