RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After a night of anticipation, the day dawned bright for Yeltsin Jacques. “Bira said: ‘we have the chance to make history once again. Brazil’s 100th gold in the Paralympics,” he said.
Bira is Carlos Antônio dos Santos, a guide. Yeltsin is completely blind and needs to run accompanied. And in the 1,500 meters one is pulling the other.
Yeltsin had already won the first gold for Brazilian athletics in Tokyo, in the 5,000-meter race. Now, he marks his name in history as the owner of Brazil’s 100th gold in the Paralympics. And that’s not all.
His time – 3min57s60 – is a world record. And had it been up to Yeltsin, they would have been even faster.
Connected by friendship and partnership, athlete and guide are also linked by a ribbon, the guide rope, and cannot let go. In the woman’s 100 meters even, the guide ribbon of both Jerusa Geber and Gabriel Garcia’s broke and they were disquqlified.
Jerusa is a world champion and record holder and was favorite for the gold. Felipe Veloso, Talita Simplício’s guide, explained what happened to Jerusa before he knew that they would be disqualified and lose the bronze medal. Felipe let go of the rope just before the finish line.
In a day of joys and sorrows, there was a medal-less victory for Hossain Rasouli. One of the two representatives from Afghanistan in the Games, the only one in track and field. With the help of the International Paralympic Committee, he managed to leave Kabul and go to Tokyo. He competed in the long jump. He came 13th, last place. The committee said it was a very special occasion.
SIX MORE MEDALS
Brazil won six more medals in Tokyo. In track and field, Raissa Rocha Machado took silver in the javelin for wheelchair athletes.
Jardênia Fênix won bronze in the 400-meter race for athletes with intellectual disabilities.
Brazil’s 101st gold in the history of the Paralympics came in swimming. Carol Santiago won the 100-meter freestyle for visually impaired athletes and took silver in the 4×100-meter mixed relay with Wendell Belarmino, Douglas Matera and Lucilene Sousa.
Gabriel Bandeira won silver in the 200 meters, four strokes, for athletes with intellectual disabilities. And in the 100-meter freestyle for athletes with physical-motor disabilities, Mariana Ribeiro took bronze.
5-A-SIDE SOCCER
Brazil’s top scorer in the Paralympics, Nonato has already scored five goals. He was born blind, but has always played ball.
“I knew my friends’ voices, who the goalkeeper was, and anything the goalkeeper said, I thought: ‘that’s the goalpost’,” he said.
He is one of the most experienced in the group. On Tuesday, August 31, Brazil scored 4-0 against the French with two of his goals.
Five-a-side soccer joined the Paralympic program in the 2004 Games, in Athens. Since then, in four Paralympic editions, only Brazil has won gold, and the first phase shows that the team is a strong candidate for another win.
In addition to France, Brazil beat China and Japan. It has scored 11 goals and conceded none. On Thursday, September 2, it will play Morocco in the semifinals. It is a challenge for veterans such as Nonato, who has been to three Paralympic Games, and for newcomers. Jardiel scored his first two goals in Tuesday’s match.
“I had scored in Copa América, Parapan, but this is my first Paralympic Games, so I am very proud, very happy,” he said.