Swimmers Gabriel Araújo, Gabrielzinho, and Carol Santiago won the trophies for best athletes at the 2024 Paralympic Awards, in a ceremony held on Thursday night (12) at the Tokio Marine Hall, in São Paulo.
The 22-year-old Minas Gerais native was one of the highlights of the Brazilian delegation at the Paralympic Games in Paris (France), winning three gold medals (100 meter backstroke, 200 meter freestyle and 50 meter backstroke) in class S2 (physical-motor impairment) . “Having recognition like this for an athlete is wonderful. The year 2024 was sensational. From the first day of the year, I knew it would be different, but I didn’t expect something that would be marked in this way. Of course, I worked hard for the results and knew what I was capable of achieving. However, everything that happened and the way it happened, especially in Paris, transformed my life and took me to places I never imagined”, said Gabrielzinho.
The 39-year-old from Minas Gerais, who is a class S12 (low vision) athlete, became, during the Paris Games, the greatest Paralympic champion in Brazilian history. In the French capital she secured three gold medals (50 meter freestyle, 100 meter freestyle and 100 meter backstroke) and two silver medals (100 meter breaststroke and 4×100 meter freestyle relay 49 points). In this way, Carol reached a total of 10 Paralympic podiums (six gold, three silver and one bronze).
“It was a wonderful year. I leave very satisfied. It was a three-year preparation for the Games that allowed me to be very ready to experience these great results. Brazilian Paralympic athletes made history and I am very honored to be part of it”, declared the woman from Pernambuco.
Athlete of the crowd
In a category in which the winner was decided through popular voting, Giovanna Boscolo from São Paulo was chosen as Athlete of the Galera. She won the bronze medal in the club throwing event in the F32 class (brain injuries) at the Paris Games. “Very gratifying to be here. Last year, I was an employee of the Sports Science department at CPB. But I thought that, in 2024, I could be elected Athlete of the Galera, even though I knew I would need to do a lot of things to reach the trophy. Thank you very much to everyone who voted for me. And congratulations to everyone at CPB for the campaign in Paris. I’m very happy to have been part of this”, he said.
Posthumous tribute
During the ceremony, a posthumous tribute was paid to multi-medallist Joana Neves. The swimmer, who passed away this year at the age of 37 due to a cardiorespiratory arrest, received the Paralympic Memory trophy, awarded to a personality who marked the history of the Paralympic Movement.
During her career, Joaninha won important medals, including three Paralympic medals, two silvers and three bronzes during the Games in London (2012), Rio (2016) and Tokyo (2020).
New athlete
The night was also about celebrating new names in Paralympic sport. And one of them was Rebeca Silva, who, after securing Olympic gold in the French capital, received the new athlete trophy this Thursday.
Also awarded at the ceremony were Fábio Vasconcelos, who received the trophy for Best Coach of Collective Sports for his work leading the Brazilian blind football team, and Amaury Veríssimo, winner of the trophy for Best Coach of Individual Sports.
