Gustavo Carneiro Silva

Started: He began playing tennis at age nine in Uberlandia, Brazil. He took up wheelchair tennis in 2017. (olimpiadatododia.com.br, 01 Sep 2019; sanguedecorredor.com, 30 May 2019) Reason: "Two days before my amputation surgery, I grabbed a wheelchair. I just wanted to start playing tennis right away. I had told myself, 'It's inevitable'. My life will be like that from now on and I had the dream of competing at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. I needed to start training as soon as possible, even before the amputation." (olimpiadatododia.com.br, 01 Sep 2019) Additional Info: SPORTS ENTHUSIAST He has been involved in sports throughout his life. He enjoyed swimming and football as a boy, and then took up tennis at age nine. He later became Brazilian champion in squash and peteca, and in 2016 he completed a marathon in Rio de Janeiro. The following year he was told that a cancerous tumour, previously removed, had returned and that doctors had no choice but to amputate his left leg. "The last weekend before surgery I did everything I wanted with my leg. I bid farewell to it in style. On Saturday I played tennis in the morning and wheelchair tennis in the afternoon, because I wanted to feel the experience. In the evening I took part in a 10km run. On Sunday I had invited some friends to do a farewell run, but it all went viral and many runners from Uberlandia joined in. I cried like a baby." (olimpiadatododia.com.br, 01 Sep 2019; sanguedecorredor.com, 30 May 2019; Olimpiada Todo Dia YouTube channel, 29 Aug 2019; globoplay.globo.com, 24 Oct 2017) FURTHER EDUCATION He has a master's degree in marketing. (sanguedecorredor.com, 30 May 2019)