Paralympian Francisca Mardones gets her own Barbie as Mattel diversifies its doll lineup

In a bid to diversify and extend the Barbie doll lineup, the American doll-making company - Mattel - has decided to further add the Barbie lineup of a wheelchair-bound Chilean Paralympian, Francisca Mardones. The doll-making company was inspired by the Paralympian who had made a world record in the shot put throw in 2019.

Mattel builds a Barbie to celebrate the achievements of Chilean Paralympian

The American company Mattel had made a miniature Barbie version of the Chilean athlete, who had led the contingent at the Tokyo Paralympics. Francisca, who is 43 and has represented her country in various sports including shot put, discus throwing, wheelchair Tennis and javelin.

Expressing her happiness, in a tweet, Mardones said that her heart is full, as these barbies will further boost the confidence of the children with disabilities to participate in sports. She wrote, “But I am especially excited because with this doll the children are going to boost their confidence, and will be motivated with the practice of sport !! Motivating them to be our future champions is what fills my heart the most!”

The company has been continuously making tremendous efforts to appreciate women achievers from across the globe. Last year, Barbie India also launched a doll dedicated to the Indian Para-badminton player Manasi Joshi. Meanwhile, earlier, this month the company had launched the miniature version of the female scientist who had largely contributed to the development of the Coronavirus vaccines.

Mattel honours scientist who contributed to the development of the COVID-19 vaccine

Barbie maker Mattel created a doll of British Coronavirus vaccine developer- Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert, in the hope of inspiring girls to get into science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) careers. According to BBC, Gilbert has been honoured as a 'Barbie Role Model' for her work at the University of Oxford and for her role as project leader in the creation of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine which is now in use in many countries around the world. Her barbie is one of the five to honour women working in STEM careers.

Apart from Gilbert, the five other women who have been honoured include an Australian medic who helped create a reusable gown for health workers and a Brazilian biomedical researcher. Dr Chika Stacy Oriuwa, a psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto, Canada, who advocated against systemic racism in healthcare, has also been honoured. Emergency Room nurse Amy O'Sullivan, who treated the first COVID-19 patient at the Wycoff Hospital in Brooklyn, New York and Dr Audrey Cruz, a frontline worker from Las Vegas who joined forces with other Asian-American physicians to fight racial bias and discrimination also get their own Barbies. 

(Image: Twitter/ @Fran_Mardones)