Marcelo Adriano de Azevedo Casanova

Started: He took up judo at age nine in Caxias do Sul, Brazil. He got involved in Para judo in 2021. (umatleta.com.br, 12 Jul 2023; olimpiadatododia.com.br, 08 Mar 2023) Reason: After watching judo at the 2012 Olympic Games in London on TV, he took up the sport at the Recreio da Juventude club in Caxias do Sul, Brazil. His father Antonio had been a member of the club. (umatleta.com.br, 12 Jul 2023) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (olimpiadatododia.com.br, 08 Mar 2023) Awards: In 2023 he was a recipient of the National Immigrant Monument Medal from the government of Caxias do Sul, Brazil. (gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br, 15 Dec 2023) He and table tennis player Sophia Kelmer were named as flag bearers for Brazil for the opening ceremony of the 2023 Youth Parapan American Games in Bogota, Colombia. (cbdv.org.br, 03 Jun 2023)