Two-time Paralympic swimmer Alejandra Aybar is one of the torchbearers for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games in Italy.
Aybar, a native of the Dominican Republic and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wrote on Instagram that learning to swim helped her see possibilities rather than limitations.
“I began to see life from a completely different perspective. What started as a simple passion turned into something much bigger than I ever imagined,” she wrote.
She carried the torch with Felipe Vicini, president of the nonprofit Creando Sueños Olímpicos (Creating Olympic Dreams, in English) that supports athletes in the Dominican Republic to reach elite levels in Olympic and Paralympic sports.
The Paralympic Torch Relay began on Feb. 24 with a flame festival in Torino and went 2,000 kilometers, or nearly 1,250 miles, throughout Italy to the opening ceremony in Verona Olympic Arena on March 6, according to information about the relay on Olympics.com. There were 501 torchbearers during the 11-day relay.
Aybar, who is 4 feet 3 inches tall, has brittle bone disease, osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as crystal bone disease. She began swimming when she was 26 after a knee injury and competed in her first Paralympics at 32 years old.
The industrial engineer has competed in both the 2020 Tokyo Games and the 2024 Paris Games. In Tokyo, Japan, in 2021, she became the first swimmer representing her native Dominican Republic to compete in the Paralympics and was a flag bearer in the opening ceremonies. She swam in the 100-meter breaststroke, 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly, in the divisions for those with physical impairments. In Paris, France, in 2024, she competed in the 200-meter individual medley, 100-meter breaststroke and 50-meter butterfly.
The Church News is looking for information about Latter-day Saint athletes. Please send information about 2026 Paralympians, including name, country and event, to churchnews@deseretnews.com.
