Para Surfing Champion, Sarah Almagro, Joins The COVVI Advocate Line-Up
In 2018, Sarah’s life was changed forever when she contracted meningococcal meningitis, a life-threatening infection that led to the amputation of both her hands and feet.
Spending a total of five months in hospital and having had 27 surgeries, including the amputations as well as a kidney transplant, Sarah was determined to regain independence, and began researching advanced prosthetic solutions.
After a long recovery process, it wasn’t until January 2020 that Sarah could begin thinking about the next steps: bionics. Since then, Sarah has been on a prosthetic journey to find her perfect fit.
After feeling disappointed with her first pair of prosthetic hands, in 2023, Sarah set about a solution that would better suit her busy and diverse lifestyle: “While searching online, I came across COVVI and sent them a message requesting information about their hand. They contacted me immediately, and a meeting was arranged with an orthopaedic clinic so I could try them. After trialling them and experiencing the exceptional service and genuine care shown by the COVVI team, I felt the COVVI Hand best suited my needs.
“Since being fitted, COVVI have worked with my clinicians and been very open to suggestions and potential modifications to the hand. The COVVI hand is fulfilling its commitment to bilateral amputees: these hands are making my day-to-day life considerably easier”.
Sarah found that the prosthetic was able to keep up with the pace of her busy life. As a keen para surfer, in 2025, Sarah has taken home gold at the Hawai’i Adaptive Surfing Championship, European Championships, and Global Championships. This has meant travelling all over the world with her COVVI Hands. Sarah also successfully completed her law degree in 2025, and is now providing motivational talks at universities, juvenile detention centres, and conferences.
Not only that, but Sarah has built a platform through her social media channels to share her story and experiences using advanced prosthetic devices.
COVVI CEO, Simon Pollard, said: “From COVVI’s inception, our goal has been to provide advanced prosthetic care to people like Sarah. Hearing her story and seeing how much she has achieved since we first spoke with her two years ago, it has been our pleasure to welcome Sarah into the COVVI family. We are so pleased to see and hear the transformative impact that advanced prosthetics has had on her life.”
Sarah was fitted with her COVVI Hand in Spain by EMO especialistas en ortopedia. CEO, Pedro Fernández, said: “We had the pleasure of meeting Sarah Almagro and witnessing first-hand how the COVVI hand has transformed her life after the prosthetic fitting process. This has been possible thanks to the collaboration between the technical guidance of Leopoldo Fernández, EMO’s Technical Director, and the work of Manuel Perona from Ortopedia IDEO, who have supported Sarah every step of the way.
“The outcome couldn’t have been better, and we are truly delighted to have been part of this journey. At EMO especialistas en ortopedia, we provide support and training to all clinicians in Spain and Portugal who are interested in incorporating this solution.”
Sarah now uses the COVVI Hand on a regular basis, with her favourite features being the protective glove, which allows her hands to be protected against wet splashes, as well as the automatic thumb movement. COVVI also offers a wide variety of grips and hand positions, which Sarah has enjoyed making full use of.
You can read more about Sarah’s journey through her advocate webpage: www.covvi.com/covvi-advocates/sarah-almagro-vallejo/
