Paralympic champion and architect leads LA28 push for inclusive Games

Ileana Rodriguez, a Cuban-born former Paralympic swimmer who placed seventh in the 100-metre breaststroke at the London 2012 Games, has taken on the role of vice president of Paralympic Strategy and Relations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. After earning bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture from Florida International University and founding the accessibility consultancy iDesign Access, she began advising LA28 on venue selection, noting that this is the first time the organizing committee has integrated Paralympic considerations from the outset.

Rodriguez aims to make the Paralympic portion an integral, not secondary, element of the Games, promoting an “athlete-first” narrative and seeking to build fan enthusiasm comparable to the Olympics. She highlights the need for buildings that go beyond code compliance to be genuinely usable, especially residential spaces for injured athletes. Her work represents a broader effort to shift cultural perceptions of disability and leave a lasting legacy of inclusive design for future events.