Para-athletes from Rio Grande do Norte won 102 medals in the athletics and swimming categories at the Loterias Caixa Paralympic Meeting, an event promoted by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB), which aims to develop and disseminate the practice of para-sport throughout the national territory, valuing athletes and preparing them for other competitions.
The event took place in the city of Fortaleza, on Sunday, September 24, and brought together 212 athletes from seven states: Ceará, Espírito Santo, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte and São Paulo. This is the sixth edition of the 2023 Paralympic Meeting, and the first held in the Northeast this year. The delegation from Rio Grande do Norte was made up of athletes from the Society of Friends of the Physically Handicapped (SADEF-RN) and the RN Paradesportive Association (Aparn).
The athletes competed in the two disciplines promoted at the event: swimming and athletics. In total, there were 56 medals won by 31 competitors in athletics, and 46 medals won in swimming by 16 athletes in swimming, including gold, silver and bronze.
Coach at the Paralympic Reference Center of the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD), in Macaíba, para-athlete Samuel Vasconcellos, known as Mukinha, brought two gold medals to Rio Grande do Norte in the competition. He states that the space provided by Meetings is fundamental for the socialization and integration of people with disabilities. “For people with disabilities, it is a great socialization tool. There, everyone is equal, everyone goes at their own pace, so it is a space of great importance.”
With just three months of training in the wheelchair adapted for running, Maria Vitória Lima da Silva, 21, also won two medals in the competition. User of the neurogenic bladder care line at ISD, Maria Vitória, who lives in São José do Mipibu, highlights that the event encourages athletes to increasingly improve their performance. “Before sports, I had difficulty even driving a wheelchair. With each competition, we train more and more and improve in skills that apply to other parts of life as well”, he highlights.
The importance of parasport in Physical Education
Physical Education student at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) and intern at the ISD Paralympic Reference Center, Paulo César Fernandes acted as a guide for athlete Kaue Erik Souza Câmara in the competition. Together, they won two gold medals for the delegation from Rio Grande do Norte. The student states that para-athletics has gained space in Physical Education. “Increasingly, professionals are looking at para-athletics as a niche that deserves attention, and this is of great importance, as Physical Education has a lot to contribute to the performance of all athletes, whether they have a disability or not”, he states. .
ABOUT ISD
The Santos Dumont Institute is a Social Organization linked to the Ministry of Education (MEC) and includes the Edmond and Lily Safra International Neuroscience Institute and the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center, both in Macaíba. ISD's mission is to promote education for life, forming citizens through integrated teaching, research and extension actions, in addition to contributing to a fairer and more humane transformation of Brazilian social reality.
