Current Paralympic champions Beth Gomes (athletics) and Gabriel Araújo (swimming) will be the flag bearers for the Brazilian delegation at the official opening of the Paris Games, starting at 3 pm (Brasília time) on Wednesday (28). At 59 years old, the multiple champion in discus throw and shot put will parade alongside Gabrielzinho, just 22, who won two golds and one silver in Tokyo 2020, his first Paralympics.
The athletes’ parade marking the opening of the Paralympic Games will begin on the famous Avenue Champs-Elysées and end at Place de la Concorde, the largest square in the City of Light.
The flag bearers Beth and Gabrielzinho, announced today by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB), compete in the disciplines with the most podium finishes for Brazil in the history of the Paralympics: athletics and swimming. In Tokyo, Beth was champion in the discus throw F52 (athletes competing seated), and Gabrielzinho won gold in the 200-meter freestyle and 50-meter backstroke, as well as silver in the 100-meter backstroke in the S2 class (physical-motor limitations).
“It’s a great feeling, an accomplishment. All of us Paralympic athletes dream of this day. Receiving the news that I would be the athlete carrying the Brazilian flag was very emotional, it brought tears to my eyes. I will honor our flag with the greatest skill and represent all the Paralympic athletes who are in Paris and also those athletes who dream of one day being here, because dreams are meant to be fulfilled. I’m here for you and for everyone,” said Beth, current world record holder in the F53 discus throw (athletes who compete sitting).
During the preparatory cycle for Paris, Beth Gomes, 59, collected excellent results, the latest of which was breaking her own world record in the javelin throw, at the Brazil Trophy, in June. Born in Santos, the thrower threw 18.45m (the previous record was 17.80m, achieved in 2023 at the Parapan American Games in Santiago). A month earlier, at the World Athletics Championships in Kobe (Japan), the Santos native won gold in the discus throw and silver in the shot put. Last year, Beth won two gold medals, one in each event.
“Beth and Gabriel are two of the great names that Brazil is bringing to Paris after an impeccable cycle, with impressive sporting results and performance in major competitions around the world, since the end of the Tokyo Paralympic Games. They are giving shape to what the CPB has worked for and believed in over the last three years. We are certain and confident that they will make their compatriots proud when they enter the Champs-Élysées, holding the Brazilian flag,” said Mizael Conrado, current president of the CPB and two-time champion in blind football (2004 and 2008).
Born in Santa Luzia, in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte (MG), Gabrielzinho is about to compete in the second Paralympics of his career. In his debut in Tokyo, he was champion twice (200m freestyle and 50m backstroke) and won silver in the 100m backstroke, in the S2 class (athletes with physical-motor impairments). In the pre-Paris cycle, he won all the competitions in the same events at the World Championships in Madeira Island (Portugal) in 2022, and in Manchester (England), last year.
“This will be a unique moment. In Tokyo, I couldn’t go to the opening [em razão da pandemia de Covid-19]. Now, I am here in Paris to experience every possible moment. I am happy to represent Brazil in the competition and all the athletes at the opening ceremony. It is a privilege that makes me very happy. I was very emotional when I received the news. It is an honor for few people,” said Gabriel, who was born with phocomelia, a congenital disease that prevents the formation of arms and legs. He was introduced to swimming by a physical education teacher at the school where he studied.
