Mónica Carolina Rivas Melgar was born in 1983 in Sonsonate, El Salvador. She joined Special Olympics when she was 12 and has remained an active participant ever since. Initially, Mónica started with track and field, but later discovered a true talent in rhythmic gymnastics.
Special Olympics played a significant role in helping Mónica overcome a lack of self-confidence, improve her social skills, and develop as both an athlete and a person. Mónica participated in Special Olympics National and Regional Games and was selected to compete at Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, 2023, in rhythmic gymnastics. She is a certified assistant coach and is involved with Athlete Leadership.
Mónica became a Health Messenger in 2021 and has completed several training courses in health, including “Women's Health and Sports: A Winning Combination” and, most recently, “Training Master Athletes”- a course dedicated to adult athletes on health, nutrition, personal care, and sport. She is very passionate about health topics, personal care, and health habits.
Mónica participates in the Healthy Athletes® program by creating videos to raise awareness about important health topics.
When she is not doing Special Olympics work, she enjoys doing crafts such as sewing and embroidery. She also likes painting and listening to music.
Health Messengers 2026
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Rachel Chircop
Special Olympics Malta -
Walid Bahrach
Special Olympics Morocco -
Munouwa Haita
Special Olympics Namibia -
Adam Hammer
Special Olympics Hungary -
Lai Wei Hang
Special Olympics Hong Kong -
Ryan Hanson
Special Olympics New Mexico -
Fatma Mohamed Nasser al Harthi
Special Olympics Oman -
Yasmin Hassan
Special Olympics Egypt -
Linda Guissel Valladares Hernández
Special Olympics Honduras -
Heather Holland
Special Olympics Wisconsin -
Mónica Carolina Rivas Melgar
Special Olympics El Salvador -
Tamary Mujaranji
Special Olympics Zimbabwe -
Urimondjiara Ruzo
Special Olympics Namibia -
Ron Szeto
Special Olympics Hong Kong -
Daniela Valentino
Special Olympics Italy
