Guilherme Batista Silva

His family. (gcn.net.br, 06 Sep 2015)

US swimmer Michael Phelps. (praiaclube.org.br, 04 Apr 2019)

He always prays before a competition. He also wears his swim cap under his goggles and puts a towel over his starting block. (globoesporte.globo.com, 26 Aug 2016)

"Before I always felt smaller than everyone else, that my future would be more difficult. Swimming has shown me that it wouldn't be like that all the time, that I would have my chance." (gcn.net.br, 21 Sep 2019)

He was diagnosed with Stargardt disease at age eight. "Childhood was the worst. I didn't understand my impairment. As I sat in the front, the board was divided into four and I could only see the first part. So if there was a text or a more extensive article, I would copy the first part and 'invent' the others. I was afraid to speak, I was afraid of the other children. After my mother explained [to the teachers] what my impairment was, which I couldn't explain, the teacher spoke to the other teachers. Other students were even a little surprised. Children have malice, but at the same time, when you explain, they accept it much more easily." (gcn.net.br, 21 Sep 2019; cpb.org.br, 01 Jun 2019; globoesporte.globo.com, 26 Aug 2016)