Around the world, the covid-19 pandemic has seen hospitals filling up with people in need of the best possible care from medical staff. Among the dedicated nurses working at the Hospital Clínica Bíblica in the Costa Rican capital of San José, is Alexandra Sandoval.
A qualified nurse with a master’s degree in intensive care, the Costa Rican fights to save the lives of her patients. Outside hospital hours, she leads another fight… for a clean sport. When she is not administering care to the seriously ill, Alexandra Sandoval is educating, campaigning and striving to help rid cycling of doping.
Question her for any length of time and the same three words arise in repetition: responsibility, passion and dedication. Three characteristics that she attributes to her background in cycling.
Born into a cycling family – her father Alexander “Pikiko” Sandoval is a well-known coach and Sport Director in Costa Rica – she says cycling helped her “learn the meaning of being dedicated to what I do, try to be the best in everything I do, be passionate about what I do. Cycling has allowed me to be an extremely responsible person.”
That sense of responsibility led her, during her nursing training, to dedicate her educational project to anti-doping.
“I think my interest in the subject always existed. But it flourished during my training as a nurse almost 10 years ago. I could perceive a gap in Costa Rican cycling. It did not have a health professional who knew the sport in depth but also had the necessary clinical and scientific knowledge to set some criteria surrounding anti-doping, an issue that was considered ‘taboo’. I was motivated by the desire to change the history surrounding this issue in my country.”
Following the creation of the educational project, in 2013, she acted as general coordinator of anti-doping controls at the Central American Games in San José.
She has since furthered her anti-doping training in Bogotá (Colombia), Madrid (Spain), Salt Lake City (USA) and in Guatemala. An accredited World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Doping Control Officer, she has presented her education programme to hundreds of cyclists of all levels and across different disciplines in Costa Rica. She has been invited to give conferences in other Central American countries, has presented her project to politicians and has been solicited by federations of other sports such as triathlon, swimming, athletics, gymnastics and soccer.
For Alexandra Sandoval, the underlying motivation was to eradicate the fear of the word ‘anti-doping’, and she was immediately delighted by the feedback she received from the athletes. She observes: “’Antidopaje’ ceased to be a topic associated with fear and scandals, but rather meant education, and empowerment in the knowledge of their obligations and rights as both athletes and people.
“Over the years, I realised that I had a social responsibility towards both Costa Rican and international sport and since then I have dedicated myself to research and offering my knowledge to those who need it.
“As a nurse I can keep up to date with all clinical and pharmacological advances. Every day I read and update myself about new trends.”
Such is her passion for the anti-doping fight, Alexandra Sandoval found time to answer our questions at 1.30am during a 45-minute break in her night shift at the Hospital Clínica Bíblica. She is currently working in the emergency service as the first direct contact with covid-19 patients: “For health professionals this is a very hard time both physically and emotionally. It is an experience that without a doubt will mark us as human beings and as professionals. But both myself and my colleagues are dedicated to taking care of our patients with the conviction that we will overcome this situation.”
Despite the long hours, cycling continues to be a motor for this committed nurse and anti-doping control officer: “Like many in the world, I am using the rollers in the little free time I have so that I can have a little physical activity and a mental escape.”