Washington Junior

Started: He took up Para athletics at age 15. (cpb.org.br, 01 Sep 2019) Reason: He wanted to become a footballer, but one day a friend of his mother told him she was a member of a sporting project for people with an impairment. He thought it would give him the opportunity to improve his fitness for football, so he began going to training sessions. He met other Para athletes there and realised athletics could allow him to travel around the world. "I thought, 'If they can do it, I can too'. And that was how football was put aside." (esportes.estadao.com.br, 13 Nov 2019; cpb.org.br, 01 Sep 2019) Additional Info: CHANGE OF ENVIRONMENT He grew up and lived in the Cidade de Deus neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2018 he relocated to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to train at the national Paralympic training centre. "There are a lot of shootings in Cidade de Deus, so I was disadvantaged, location wise, when compared to my rivals. Moving to Sao Paulo was complicated at the beginning because of the weather, as I was always catching a cold but, once I got used to it, it improved my results so much." (esportes.estadao.com.br, 13 Nov 2019)