Brazil summons maximum strength for World Championships

Of the 35 Brazilian athletes who will travel to Lyon, 25 competed in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, and 15 competed in the last World Championship, in 2011, in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Brazil has announced a star-studded line up of athletes who will compete in the 2013 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Championships in France.

Of the 35 Brazilian athletes who will travel to Lyon, 25 competed in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, and 15 competed in the last World Championship, in 2011, in Christchurch, New Zealand. In London, the Brazilian team finished in seventh place overall in the athletics ranking, garnering 18 medals (seven gold, eight silver and three bronze). All of the Brazilian Paralympic Champions will be in Lyon.

Two years ago, in New Zealand, the Brazilian athletes achieved an unprecedented third place in the World Championship, finishing only behind China and Russia in the medal standings. The team took home 12 gold, 10 silver and eight bronze medals, for a total of 30 podium finishes.

Lyon will mark the debut of 20 athletes, including promising talents such as 17-year old Veronica Silva Hipolito. The Sao Paulo athlete began to compete in Paralympic sports this year, after suffering a stroke. In a short period of time, she has already broken 100m, 200m and long jump T38 national records.

The Brazilian delegation in France will consist of 60 members, including athletes, athlete-guides and technical staff and coaches. The Brazilian states with the highest number of athlete representatives are Sao Paulo, with five athletes, and Rio de Janeiro, Alagoas and Minas Gerais, each with three athletes.

The Brazilian team includes Alan Fonteles Oliveira, gold medalist in London in the 200m T44, who triumphed over Oscar Pistorius, Terezinha Guilhermina, the fastest visually impaired athlete in the world, and Shirlene Coelho, 2012 gold medalist in the javelin F37.

Brazil’s participation in the IPC Athletics World Championship will be funded by an agreement between the Brazilian Paralympic Committee and the Ministry of Sports. This partnership encompasses 15 different sports.

The full Brazilian team heading to Lyon:

Women

Alice de Oliveira Correa

Jenifer Martins dos Santos

Jhulia Karol dos Santos

Marivana Oliveira da Nobrega

Lorena Salvatini Spoladore

Sheila Finder

Shirlene Santos de Souza Coelho

Verônica Silva Hipolito

Izabela Silva Campos

Elizabeth Rodrigues Gomes

Adriele de Moraes

Jerusa Geber dos Santos

Silvania Costa de Oliveira

Teresinha de Jesus Correia dos Santos

Terezinha Aparecida Guilhermina

Men

Claudiney Batista dos Santos

Alan Fonteles Cardoso de Oliveira

Alex Douglas Pires da Silva

Andre Luiz Garcia de Andrade

Ariosvaldo Fernandes da Silva

Bruno Marins Araújo

Daniel Mendes da Silva

Edson Cavalcante Pinheiro

Emicarlo Elias de Souza

Ernesto Epifânio Mendonça

Ezequiel Marcelo da Costa

Felipe de Souza Gomes

Jonathan de Souza Santos

Leonardo Amancio

Lucas Prado

Marco Aurelio Lima Borges

Odair Ferreira dos Santos

Thierb da Costa Siqueira

Tito Alves de Sena

Yohansson do Nascimento Ferreira

Guides

Carlos Antônio dos Santos

Diogo Cardoso da Silva

Fábio Dias de Oliveira Silva

Guilherme Soares de Santana

Heitor de Oliveira Sales

Jorge Augusto Pereira Borges

Justino Barbosa dos Santos

Laercio Alves Martins

Luiz Henrique Barboza da Silva

Samuel Souza do Nascimento