This Tuesday night (9) consecrated the swimmers Carol Santiago and Gabriel Araújo, known as Gabrielzinho, as best male and female athletes of 2025 at the Brasil Paralímpico Awardsrepeating the result from 2024.
The ceremony that, for 14 years, recognizes the highlights of Brazilian parasports during the season took place at the Tokio Marine Hall, a music venue in the south of São Paulo.
The two shone at this year’s World Championships, held in Singapore. Gabrielzinho, from class S2 (the second with the greatest physical-motor impairment), won the 50 and 100 meters (m) backstroke and the 200 m freestyle. Carol, who competes in class S12 (low vision), won gold in the 50 and 100 m freestyle, the 100 m backstroke and the 4×100 medley relay for athletes with visual impairments.
Another awaited award was Athlete of the Galera, chosen by popular vote on the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB) website. For the first time, only women were among the six finalists. The victory went to Verônica Hipólito, sprinter in class T36 (cerebral palsy).
34 trophies were awarded throughout the night. Fábio Antunes, Gabrielzinho’s coach, and Alessandro Tosim, who won the Copa América leading the women’s goalball team, were chosen as the best coaches in individual and team sports, respectively.
Alessandra Oliveira, world champion swimmer and record holder in the 100 meter breaststroke in the SB4 class (intermediate among those for physical-motor disabilities), won as a new athlete. Praia Clube, from Uberlândia (MG), received the Loterias Caixa Award, for the most outstanding team in 2025.
What was new in relation to the last editions was the presence of climbing among the now 25 sports on the Paralympic schedule.
The sport will debut in the Paralympics at the Los Angeles Games, in 2028, in the United States. Two-time world champion in 2025, Marina Dias was awarded the trophy. The São Paulo native, whose left side of her body is affected by multiple sclerosis, competes in the RP3 class (athletes with limitations in reach, strength and power).
>> Check out the winners of the 2025 Paralympic Awards:
Athletics: Jerusa Geber
Badminton: Vitor Tavares
Wheelchair basketball: Sérgio Veiga
Bocce: Maciel Santos
Canoeing: Fernando Rufino
Cycling: Sabrina Custódia
Climbing: Marina Dias
Wheelchair fencing: Jovane Guissone
Winter sports: Cristian Ribera
Blind football: Raimundo Nonato
PC Football (cerebral palsy): Vinícius Araújo
Goalball: André Dantas
Weightlifting: Tayana Medeiros
Equestrian: Rodolpho Riskalla
Judo: Brenda Freitas
Swimming: Carol Santiago
Rowing: Gessyca Guerra and Michel Pessanha
Wheelchair rugby: Lucas Junqueira
Taekwondo: Ana Carolina Moura
Table tennis: Sophia Kelmer
Wheelchair tennis: Vitória Miranda
Sports shooting: Alexandre Galgani
Archery: Eugênio Franco
Triathlon: Jessica Messali
Sitting volleyball: Suellen Lima
Aldo Miccolis: Sílvia Grecco, Municipal Secretary for Persons with Disabilities of São Paulo
Caixa Lotteries Prize: Praia Clube
Braskem Award: Ricardo Mendonça, from athletics
Paralympic Memory: National Association of Sports for the Disabled (Ande) / Brazilian Confederation of Sports for Athletes with Intellectual Disabilities (CBDI)
Best Individual Coach: Fábio Antunes, coach of Gabriel Araújo
Best Collective Coach: Alessandro Tosim, from the women’s goalball team
New Athlete: Alessandra Oliveira, from swimming
Best Male Athlete: Gabriel Araújo, from swimming
Best Female Athlete: Carol Santiago, from swimming
Athlete of the Gang: Verônica Hipólito, from athletics
