Chilean paralympian gets her own Barbie as doll-maker diversifies

Francisca Mardones, Chilean wheelchair tennis player, poses with her Barbie doll model for a photo in Tokyo, Japan, in this picture obtained from social media. Francisca Mardones/Instagram/@mardones_fran/via REUTERS

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A wheelchair-bound Chilean paralympian who set a 2019 world record for shotputting has become the latest subject of a Barbie created by American toy firm Mattel, as part of the company's aim to diversify the product line of its famous doll.

Francisca Mardones, 43, was the standard-bearer of the Chilean team participating in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. She has represented her country in wheelchair tennis and, latterly, shotputting, discus throwing and javelin.