Diego is somewhat saturated the last days from interview to interview, like a few months ago, back in September, when his unforgettable gesture of sportsmanship, letting a rival triathlete pass with a distracted GPS, earned him unanimous applause, turned into a planetarium by work and grace of Mr. Will Smith. From that detail another even better one was born: running for west a fundraising campaign to help the West Syndrome Foundation, the rare disease suffered by his brother Carlos.
How do you handle this fame?
I don’t think I can say that I am famous as such. Perhaps at the time, when everything happened, I was a little bit, but not anymore.
What do you remember about that?
To me the gesture in the middle of the race seemed normal, the most fair, and I did not give the slightest importance. I assumed I was going to be fourth and it wasn’t fair that I finished third.
And the boom ...
The first few days it hardly came out in some places, which is normal, but everything exploded when Will Smith saw it and published it. I did not expect.
How did the running for west project come about?
A few days later, someone called me and said they wanted to meet me. It seemed a bit strange to me but I went: it was Raúl, CEO of Zertior, who told me that he wanted to help me and asked me what my dream was.
And which one is it?
Help my brother Carlos without a doubt.
Who is your brother?
My brother’s name is Carlos and he is 23 years old, two years older than me, but he is like a small child and suffers from West’s disease. It is a syndrome that is evolving, a rare disease and now he really no longer suffers from it, now he has drug resistant epilepsy. The result is that he can never be alone, he is a completely dependent person.
And what is Carlos like?
He is very affectionate and always shows it to you, with kisses or hugs, although there are also times when he gets angry and has behavior problems, but without any malice.
What are the prospects for research on this disease?
There is current research but this disease has many different cases and can lead to others. Realistically, there is no cure for my brother and his prognosis is bad.
And what is the goal of the running for west project?
Raising money for the foundation that bears the name of this syndrome. It is a help from the point of view of the investigation, so that it continues, and to give a hand to the families of these patients, who have a very difficult situation.
What has your brother taught you?
A lot of things. He has taught me to value the truly important things in life.
And what is your sports dream?
Keep going up in the triathlon. I have been practicing it for six years and I think it has not gone bad for me so far.
An Olympic Games?
No, I have to be realistic and I see it almost impossible to get to the Games, because you have to be very focused on that. There is only one.
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