Thiago Paulino dos Santos

Started: He took up Para athletics in 2011. (cpb.org.br, 01 Sep 2019) Reason: He was told about Para athletics when he was at the hospital after his accident, and he began to research the sport while still hospitalised. "I got to know the sport through videos of Brazilian Para thrower Marco Aurelio Borges. When I saw it, I thought, 'A big guy doing this? I think I can do it too'. At first I just gave it a go for fun, and it ended up becoming my job. When I made my first throw, I fell in love and never stopped." (uol.com.br, 18 Jul 2021; folhavitoria.com.br, 09 Nov 2019; lance.com.br, 25 Aug 2019) Ambition: To win a gold medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br, 11 Feb 2022) Additional Info: PHYSIQUE When he began training in Para athletics he weighed 78 kilograms and by 2015 he had reached the 100-kilogram mark. When he competed at the 2015 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, he realised he was still lighter than many of the top athletes. "It was a reality check. I saw my rivals' size and I was in awe, all of them were bigger than me. As I didn't have enough knowledge about the sport I used to consume a low-calorie diet. So I didn't have enough strength. The shot put and the discus throw need strength." With the help of a nutritionist at the Brazilian Paralympic Centre he changed his diet to gain weight, and by 2021 he had reached 165 kilograms. "My size is what got me to where I am today and is what let me start a new life from scratch. Throwing events require big athletes. Generally, a skinny athlete is not fit for these events. You have to be big and have strength. That's why I thank my body." (uol.com.br, 18 Jul 2021) SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP He and Brazilian futsal player Falcao have built a friendship since Falcao helped him to buy a knee brace for his prosthetic leg in 2013. Falcao heard about him when he played for a local futsal team in Orlandia. "It was a relatively expensive material, and he offered to help me. He didn't even know me. Since then we became friends. We met after I won gold in the F57 shot put at the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto. I went to his house in Sorocaba to show the medal, and he received me with a coffee. We talked a lot, and he said that I gained a fan." (lance.com.br, 25 Aug 2019; globoesporte.globo.com, 25 Oct 2015)