Three-time olympian Lisandra Guerra Rodriguez inspires students at St. Joseph’s Hosea Elementary

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV)-- Lisandra Guerra Rodriguez might work as a paraprofessional at Hosea Elementary School now, her journey to the classroom is anything but ordinary — she’s also a three-time Olympian. 

Guerra represented Team Cuba in cycling at the Summer Olympics in 2008, 2012 and 2016. But long before the Olympic stage, she was just a super active 10-year-old who wanted to try every sport she could.  

“The first I won I was ten and I was a very active girl and I almost did all the sports before I found cycling,” Guerra said.  

When she first got on a bicycle, she said she instantly fell in love with it. Before that, her parents hadn’t been able to afford one because of financial struggles, so finally having that experience meant everything to her.  

What started out as something she did just for fun slowly turned into a real passion. Then she realized she was actually good at it — and that’s when everything changed.  

After competing in many events, she decided to take a big step and compete outside of Cuba. At her first international competition and broke two records.  

“And that’s how I got scholarships in Switzerland and it was a really really good school and it was a really good chance for me. I was 15 years old and first time I travelled and didn’t speak any other language other than spanish,” Guerra said. 

Guerra said in the beginning, she was scared. She had never left home before and everything felt new and unfamiliar. But looking back, she describes it as an incredible experience that helped her grow. 

She admitted it took a lot of courage to take that step, but she saw it as an opportunity to create a better life for her family — and that gave her the strength to push forward.  

“I went to three Olympic games it was awesome. I learnt so many things like I learnt how to lose, I learnt how to win and that also helped me in my life and it taught me a lot of stuff,” Guerra said.  

While she was in Switzerland, she attended a school where she trained and prepared herself to compete at a high level against other athletes.  

She said she would travel back and forth between Cuba and Switzerland — visiting her family whenever she could, then returning to continue her training and stay focused on her goals. 

“The first Olympic game was in Beijing, 2008 then I went to London in 2012 and my last one was in Rio 2016,” Guerra added.  

In 2022, she moved to the United States ready for a fresh start and decided to begin a new chapter in education. 

Guerra said ever since she started working at Hosea Elementary, she’s truly fallen in love with her career.  

“After my cycling career the best thing that ever happened to me was this. I am so happy here. I love the kids, I love Hosea and I love my Hosea family,” Guerra said.  

Guerra said she encourages kids to believe in themselves and to never give up, no matter how tough things may seem.