Brasil ready to excel in front of home crowd

“My son inspires me to give my best every day. I want to give him back much better opportunities in life than I had.”

With just a few days to go until competition at Rio 2016 gets underway, Brazil’s seven-time Paralympic champion Andre Brasil is geared up to defend his titles at his home Paralympic Games.

Showing excellent form at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Great Britain, where he sealed three titles, Brasil said he will give everything he has to retain his three golds from London 2012.

“My goal is to do the best I can to represent my country. I want to give 100 per cent all the time. I aim to be the best Andre Brasil that I can,” he said.

“I am working hard to do my best, so I feel confident. I don’t know if that will be enough for a medal, but I will try very hard.”

Brasil is a versatile swimmer and is the defending champion in the 50m and 100m freestyle S10 and 100m butterfly. He will also dive into the pool for the 400m freestyle S10, 100m backstroke S10, 200m individual medley SM10 and two relays.

“The 100m freestyle is my favourite though. Probably because I grew up watching great swimmers such as Brazil’s Gustavo Borges, Russia’s Alexander Popov and USA’s Matt Biondi,” Brasil said.

The Brazilian also points out his biggest rival, but it is not another swimmer as many would think:

“I prefer to think that everyone has a chance to win. For us the clock is the bad guy!”

Besides looking forward to the competition, he is very excited about his country hosting the Paralympics.

“I expect a big party there! My family, friends and all the Brazilian people will have a chance to see how big and powerful Paralympic sport is.

“I can’t wait to show the world how much we grew in the last years and how strong our Brazilian team is,” he said.

He is also optimistic in seeing change at home: “I hope we can create more equality in Brazil. I wish that people with impairment will be put on the same level as able-bodied people.

“If we had good education and good health care provided in the whole country, we would definitely create more opportunities for all. It would make a better Brazil than ever before.”

Brasil is also delighted to be able to share the Games with his family and friends: “I hope they enjoy every second of Rio 2016 with me.

“My son inspires me to give my best every day. I want to give him back much better opportunities in life than I had.”

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Sport fans from around the world can now buy their Paralympic tickets for Rio 2016 from authorised ticket resellers (ATRs)

The IPC’s Global ATR is Jet Set Sports, and Rio 2016 tickets and packages can be purchased on the CoSport website.

Residents of Brazil can buy 2016 Paralympics tickets directly from the Rio 2016 website.

Visa International is the exclusive payment card and the official payment system for the Paralympic Games.