Brazil is one of the countries that stands out most in the Paralympics, with incredible athletes who collect medals and records. These athletes compete in many different sports, showing that inclusion is extremely important when it comes to physical activity.
At the Paralympic Games, the athletes are people with different types of disabilities, whether physical, visual or intellectual. If you’ve come this far, it’s because you’re curious to know more about the Brazilian Paralympic athletes, right?
So, it’s time to find out who the greatest Brazilian Paralympians are. It’s worth remembering that the list is huge, but we’ve selected 20 of these athletes that you need to know about!
Check them out 👇
The greatest Brazilians at the Paralympics: a complete list
- André Brasil
- Clodoaldo Silva
- Daniel Dias
- Ádria Santos
- Antônio Tenório
- Luiz Cláudio Pereira
- Terezinha Guilhermina
- Yohansson Nascimento
- Felipe Gomes
- Dirceu Pinto
- Alan Fonteles
- Damião Robson
- Silvânia Costa
- Edênia Nogueira Garcia
- Daniel Mendes
- Alessandro Rodrigo da Silva
- Mizael Conrado
- Jovane Silva Guissone
- Alex de Melo Souza
- Verônica Silva Hipólito
The greatest Brazilians at the Paralympics: meet the athletes!
20. Verônica Silva Hipólito
- Sport: athletics
- Medals: 2
The sprinter Verônica Silva Hipólito started out in Olympic athletics, but after suffering a stroke and losing part of the movement on her right side, she took up the Paralympic sport.
In the Paralympic Games, Verônica Hipólito competed in the 2016 edition, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, and won a silver and a bronze medal.
19. Alex de Melo Souza
- Sport: golbol
- Medals: 2
Alex de Melo Souza, a golbol athlete, is visually impaired and one of the most outstanding players in his sport. He started practicing the sport in 2009 and soon fell in love with it.
At the Paralympic Games, Alex won two medals: a gold at the Tokyo Paralympics and a bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
18. Jovane Silva Guissone
- Sport: wheelchair fencing
- Medals: 2
Jovane Silva Guissone, a wheelchair fencing athlete, has won two medals at the Paralympic Games. The athlete suffered a spinal cord injury when he was 22 and lost the movement in his leg.
Three years later, he discovered wheelchair fencing and soon identified with the sport, winning victories. His medals came at the Paralympics in London (gold) and Tokyo (silver).
17. Mizael Conrado
- Sport: blind soccer
- Medals: 2
Mizael Conrado, a paralympic athlete in soccer for the blind, lost his sight completely when he was 13. He got involved in sport at school and never gave it up.
The athlete competed in the Paralympic Games in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. In both events, Mizael won the gold medal with his team and became one of the greatest Brazilians in the Paralympics.
16. Alessandro Rodrigo da Silva
- Sport: athletics
- Medals: 3
Athletics’ Alessandro Rodrigo da Silva specializes in the discus throw. He has won three Paralympic medals during his career in the sport, one gold and one silver in Tokyo, and one gold in Rio de Janeiro.
Born in Santo André, São Paulo, Alessandro fell victim to toxoplasmosis and lost all his sight. Fortunately, a former teacher introduced him to Paralympic sports, which changed his life.
15. Daniel Mendes
- Sport: athletics
- Medals: 3
Athlete Daniel Mendes, from Espírito Santo, is a Paralympic athletics standout and has won three medals at the Games: one gold, one silver and one bronze.
The runner, who is visually impaired, won his gold and bronze medals at the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and silver in London in 2012.
14. Edênia Nogueira Garcia
- Sport: swimming
- Medals: 3
Edênia Nogueira Garcia, a swimmer born in Crato, Ceará, has won three Paralympic medals: two silver and one bronze. She took part in the Olympic Games in Athens, Beijing and London.
The swimmer became known for being the first Brazilian athlete to win a third world championship. Her specialty is the 50-meter backstroke, but she has also competed in other disciplines.
13. Silvânia Costa
- Sport: athletics
- Medals: 3
Born in Mato Grosso do Sul, Silvânia Costa is a two-time Paralympic champion, with two gold medals and one silver. The athletics athlete won at the Paralympics in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro.
Silvânia has a condition called Stargardt’s disease, which causes her to slowly lose her sight. She discovered athletics at the age of 18, running and jumping.
12. Damião Robson
- Sport: soccer
- Medals: 4
Damião Robson de Souza Ramos, a 5-a-side soccer player, has already won four Paralympic medals in his career, all of them gold.
Born in Campina Grande, Paraíba, the athlete took part in the Tokyo, Beijing and Athens Olympics.
11. Alan Fonteneles
- Sport: athletics
- Medals: 5
Alan Fonteles, an athlete, was born in Pará and started practicing sport when he was just eight years old. As a newborn, he had to have both his legs amputated and is now an athlete thanks to prostheses.
The athlete has already won five Paralympic medals: two gold and three silver. He also has other medals in different championships.
10. Dirceu Pinto
- Sport: bocce
- Medals: 5
Dirceu Pinto, a bocce athlete, is on the list of Brazil’s greatest paralympians. Born in Mogi das Cruzes, the athlete won five Olympic medals during his career.
Sadly, Dirceu Pinto passed away in 2020, aged just 39, after suffering a heart attack.
9. Felipe Gomes
- Sport: athletics
- Medals: 6
Runner Felipe Gomes lost his sight at the age of six. He began his career in sport playing golbol, but it was in athletics that he discovered what he likes to do.
Born in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Felipe Gomes has won six Paralympic medals along his journey. Among them, two are gold, three silver and one bronze.
8. Yohansson Nascimento
- Sport: athletics
- Medals: 6
At just 36 years old, Yohansson Nascimento is one of the greatest Brazilians in the Paralympics, with six medals to his name. The athlete was born without both hands and was introduced to the sport when he was 17.
Yohansson, born in Maceió, Alagoas, won a gold and a silver medal in London, a silver and a bronze in Beijing, and a silver and a bronze in Rio de Janeiro.
7. Terezinha Guilhermina
- Sport: athletics
- Medals: 6
The sprinter Terezinha Guilhermina, from Betim, Minas Gerais, is visually impaired, but that hasn’t stopped her from being a great champion.
In athletics, she competes in the 100, 200 and 400 meter races and has won six medals at the Paralympics: three gold, one silver and two bronze.
6. Luiz Cláudio Pereira
- Sports: weight throw, javelin throw and discus throw
- Medals: 6
Born in Medellín, Colombia, but with Brazilian citizenship, athlete Luiz Cláudio Pereira is a well-known Paralympic medalist. He competes in the weight throw, javelin throw and discus throw.
In these sports, he has won six gold medals at the Paralympics. Before that, he competed in judo, but became paraplegic at the age of 16 during a fight.
5. Antônio Tenório
- Sport: Judo
- Medals: 11
The athlete Antônio Tenório, from São Bernardo do Campo, is visually impaired and is considered the greatest paralympic judoka in history. The athlete already practiced judo before losing his sight completely, so all he had to do was adapt.
Antônio Tenório, one of the greatest Brazilians in the Paralympics, has won 11 medals at the Olympic Games, eight gold, one silver and two bronze.
4. Ádria Santos
- Sport: athletics
- Medals: 13
Athletics athlete Ádria Santos is also known by the nickname “daughter of the wind”. The Brazilian, who is totally visually impaired, has made a name for herself as a great sprinter and also Brazil’s biggest medal winner at the Paralympics.
She won 13 medals at the Paralympic Games, four of them gold, eight silver and one bronze. Born in Minas Gerais, Ádria has been a sportswoman since the age of 13.
3. Clodoaldo Silva
- Sport: swimming
- Medals: 14
In the Paralympics alone, swimmer Clodoaldo Silva has 14 medals to his name. Of these, six are gold, six silver and two bronze.
The athlete, who has cerebral palsy, was born in Natal and is also known by the nickname “Paralympic Shark”.
2. André Brasil
- Sport: swimming
- Medals: 24
With no less than 24 medals won at the Paralympic Games, André Brasil is one of the greatest Brazilians at the Paralympics. The athlete, who has a physical disability, found himself in swimming during his rehabilitation.
André Brasil competed in the Paralympics in Beijing in 2008, London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Among his medals, 14 are gold, eight silver and two bronze.
1. Daniel Dias
- Sport: swimming
- Medals: 25
Daniel Dias is one of the greatest Brazilians in the Paralympics. The athlete, who has a physical disability, has already been recognized as one of the greats in sports, and in the Paralympic Games alone he has 25 medals: 14 gold, seven silver and four bronze.
The 35-year-old is from São Paulo and has excelled at the Paralympics in Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro, as well as many other championships.
These were the top 20 Brazilians in the Paralympics, but of course Brazil has many more important athletes. The Paralympic Games take place right after the traditional Olympics, and are well worth checking out too!
Now that you know some of the top Brazilians in the Paralympics, take the opportunity to continue browsing the site and find out much more about various other sports!
