‎Brazil News

Athletics continues to stand out in winning medals at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. The modality secured three more medals among the six achieved by Brazil in the early hours of this Thursday (2). It was gold, silver and bronze. Athletics already totals 19 medals in Tokyo.

 

The modality has 65 athletes competing for medals at the Paralympic Games and 64 are part of the Bolsa Atleta, an individual sponsorship program of the Federal Government. Of these, 55 are in the Podium category, the main one in the program, aimed at those who qualify among the 20 best in the world in their sport. Athletics accounts for the largest transfer in the Rio-Tokyo cycle, with R$ 30.9 million.

 

The gold medal came in the F11 class disc release with Alessandro Rodrigo, who has the Bolsa Pódio. Even in the rain, the athlete led the race all the time and set a new Paralympic record, with 43m16, and won the bi-championship in the race.

 

The medalist says that the gold was a reward after a lot of training in a period of challenges that preceded the games, with restrictions imposed by Covid-19 and physical injury. “It's a big competition, so we have to do our best, keep the best, even in the rain. Slipping is difficult for everyone,” he reported.

 

“The cycle was difficult, training all the time on empty terrain, working out at home. You are not in a suitable place. I had Covid-19, I had a broken chest, my father passed away four months ago. It was a whirlwind of things, now it's time to smile, to show Brazil that even in difficulties we can perform well, have the best brand. My feeling is of accomplishment”, said Alessandro Rodrigo.

 

Silver was guaranteed by Marivana Nóbrega in the F35 class shot, her second in the Paralympic Games. The bronze was by Mateus Evangelista, who is part of Bolsa Pódio, in the long jump in class T37. In the last Games, in Rio 2016, the athlete had already won silver in the modality.

 

Marivana Nóbrega spoke about the support of Bolsa Atleta to reach the podium. “The Bolsa Pódio is essential for me. I can focus on my workouts, buy state-of-the-art equipment. I only focus on training because I have the support of Bolsa Pódio. I would like to thank the high performance sports department [of the Ministry of Citizenship] and that it continues to promote the sport and help us shine around the world”, said the medalist.

 

Unique medal in parataekwondo

Completing the table of six more medals won is a milestone, the first medal in the history of parataekwondo in Paralympic Games. And it was a gold medal with Nathan Torquato, in the K44 class up to 61kg, an athlete who is part of Bolsa Pódio.

 

Nathan started the fight well, opening two points in the first round. In the second he got the score 24 to 13. In the last round, the opponent, an Italian, reacted, but the Brazilian held back and left with the victory.

 

Swimming

Swimming continues to bring medals to Brazil. There were two more gold medals with athletes receiving the Bolsa Pódio. One with Gabriel Araújo, only 19 years old, in the 50m backstroke of the S2 class. It's his second gold at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. The other gold came from Talisson Glock in the 400m freestyle in the S6 class. Talisson had already won two bronze medals in Tokyo.

 

Athlete Scholarship

Brazil competes in Tokyo with the largest delegation in Paralympic Games abroad. There are 259 athletes, including guide athletes, runners, goalkeepers and helmsman. Of this total, 236 are regular athletes, of which 226 (95.7%) are part of the Bolsa Atleta.

 

Most athletes (57.6%) receive Bolsa Pódio, which is the main category of Bolsa Atleta. There are 136 athletes. The other categories are: 44 in the Paralympic, 26 in the International and 20 in the National.

 

The total investment is R$ 117 million from the Federal Government via Bolsa Atleta to the 226 athletes since 2005. Only in the cycle between the Rio 2016 and Tokyo Games, it is R$ 75 million

 

deposited directly to the members of the Brazilian delegation.

 

Learn more about Paralympics athletes and disciplines

 

Brazil is in sixth place in the world ranking with 54 medals: 19 gold, 13 silver and 22 bronze.

 

Check out the winners

 

Gold

Alana Maldonado – judo, in the 70 kg category of class B2. She receives the Bolsa Pódio from the Federal Government.

 

Alessandro Rodrigo – athletics, class F11 record release. Receives the Bolsa Pódio from the Federal Government.

 

Beth Gomes – athletics, class F53 disc throwing. Receives the Government Podium Scholarship