Nico Adega was seven years old when doctors told him he would never run again. Thirteen years later, the Spanish paddler is a European and world champion in paracanoe marathon and is targeting a place at the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
His path to the top began with a diagnosis of osteosarcoma, a bone cancer located in the femur. His parents described the illness to him as tiny creatures eating his bone, and explained that strong medication would make his hair fall out. What followed was nearly two years of treatment, 25 cycles of chemotherapy, 34 cycles of immunotherapy, and surgery in which doctors removed part of the femur, fitted a prosthesis, and destroyed the growth cartilage.
Because that last procedure left one leg shorter than the other, Adega required corrective surgery every eight months. In total he underwent 15 operations in fewer than 13 years.
Finding the Water
After leaving hospital, Adega was told he could not run, jump, or play football. He spent five years asking doctors for permission to try tennis, padel, basketball, judo, and table tennis. Each time the answer was the same: too dangerous. Then an orthopaedic specialist suggested canoeing.
Within a week he had joined Club Fluvial de Lugo. He capsized often in the early stages but said the sport gave him a sense of freedom, adding that his limitations stayed outside the canoe. He described leaving behind the identity of the boy who always limped.
At one of his first regattas he capsized nine times, including once just 50 metres from the finish line. Officials offered to tow him in, but he refused and completed the course under his own power. By the time he crossed the line, he said, most of his rivals were already having an afternoon snack.
A Sudden World Title
In 2021 Adega discovered paracanoe. He won the Galician and Spanish championships and entered the Galician High Performance Sport Centre. Then, attempting to go down a slide with friends, he fractured the femur and had to have the entire piece replaced with a full prosthesis. Months later a hip complication required another operation. For several months he could not touch a canoe.
When he returned to competition at 16 he finished eighth at the European Championships against senior athletes. He then travelled to the first paracanoe marathon world championships in Hungary expecting only to test the discipline. He told his parents there was no need to attend. He won.
He said he had gone without expectations, purely to gauge how the marathon format suited him, and that as the race progressed he felt stronger than his rivals.
Beyond Sport
A month ago Adega won the European title. He is now seeking a sponsor to fund his bid for Los Angeles 2028, a goal he described as difficult but not impossible. He said he believed he would be fully competitive and at his best for the 2032 Brisbane Games.
Away from the water, Adega studies computer engineering at the University of Seville and gives talks in hospitals and schools. The decision to speak publicly about his experience came after he met a seven-year-old boy who had just been diagnosed with the same cancer. He spoke with the boy before surgery and spent time with the family. The boy’s mother told him that meeting Adega had given them immense hope.
Adega said he does not deny that limits exist, noting he cannot run, but argued that no one should impose limits on another person before their time. He said he was grateful that his seven-year-old self had refused to believe in limits and kept fighting.
