PORTRAIT – The young Brazilian won a third gold medal in the 200m (S2) on Monday. He has risen to become one of the stars of the Games.
100m backstroke (Thursday), 50m (Saturday) and 200m (Monday) at the end of a race dominated from start to finish (ahead of Russian Vladimir Danilenko and Chilean Alberto Abarza Diaz). Brazilian Gabriel dos Santos Araujo (22 years old) won the three gold medals he dreamed of. To rise a notch above the Tokyo Games in 2021 (2 gold medals and 1 silver). And even higher. The flag bearer of the Brazilian delegation, a star of social networks, is a phenomenon of the pools. In the S2 category, reserved for athletes with a severe physical disability. The Brazilian, born without arms and with atrophied legs. “As we wanted him to have a normal childhood, we took him to a club where there was a swimming pool. At four or five years old, he already knew how to swim, even though he didn’t have arms. I think it’s a gift he received from God,” his mother told AFP.
In the water, Gabriel dos Santos Araujo stands out for his technique made up of long flows, then lively undulations of the pelvis, torso, neck and legs. “He uses what is called the ‘core’: the muscles of the abdomen and chest. And he is incredible, he is truly an example. Because every athlete has to surpass themselves, but he has the handicap to overcome in addition, and it is very difficult to be an athlete in Brazil. He is an icon of sport,” details on RFI Renata Guerra, a Brazilian disabled swimmer, about the technique, endurance and mental strength she works on six days a week, in Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais (southeast of Brazil).
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In the documentary À corps perdus (directed by Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai; broadcast on France Télévisions), Gabriel dos Santos Araujo recounts: “My story with water is curious, it is really very special. In the city where I live, Corinto, it was always very hot, it was impossible not to go into the water. I almost drowned several times and the more it happened, the more I wanted to learn to swim and surpass myself. It should have been a trauma but on the contrary, it was the trigger for my greatest passion. When I am in the water, I am in my element, I cut myself off from the outside world and I am in symbiosis with the water. When I get to the pool, I am completely transformed. I forget all the problems of life and all the trials I have been through. I always wanted to be independent and the pool allowed me to do that.”
Registered for a competition, a school tournament, to the surprise of his parents at the age of 13, Gabriel dos Santos Araujo quickly distinguished himself. And never stopped. Swimming. And winning (19 international medals, including 4 at the world championships in 2022). In the Paris Défense Arena, which saw Léon Marchand and the brilliant French Paralympic swimmers (Emeline Pierre, Ugo Didier, the brothers Alex and Kylian Portal, etc.) parade through the streets, the public only had eyes for him during his races. His unique movements, his relentless commitment, were accompanied by fervent cheers.
And as he leaves the pool, the show continues. The Brazilian swallows a mouthful of pool water and spits it out in a large spray. On the podium, he enjoys doing a little dance. Always lit up by a huge smile. Away from the pools, this football fanatic “uses his toes to control the screen of his mobile phone, the same technique he uses with his console, with which he mainly plays football on a video game, his other great passion”, says O Globo.
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Before diving into these Paralympic Games, the Brazilian assured: “I’m very competitive, so everything I do is to win. I suffer a lot in training, I work hard, but when I’m in the water, I want to have fun and enjoy swimming because I love it. And I love the adrenaline.“After his first gold medal, he told the Brazilian Paralympic Committee: “My smile is being carried to the four corners of the world. I felt at home. The race was perfect, perfect, perfect. The nights of sleep that my coach and I lost during this cycle were worth it. Everything I worked on psychologically paid off.” Each of his appearances has since been recorded as a highlight of the Paralympic Games. The daily Zero Hora, quoted by Courrier International, sums it up: “They call him Gabrielzinho, little Gabriel, but even though he is 1.21m tall, the talented Brazilian is a giant of Paralympic swimming.”
