Petrucio Ferreira


Caicó, Brazil

Caicó, Brazil
Data | Value |
---|---|
Impairment Information | |
Type of Impairment | Limb deficiency |
Origin of Impairment | Acquired |
Classification | T47 |
Further Personal Information | |
Residence | João Pessoa, BRA |
Occupation | Athlete, Student |
Languages | Portuguese |
Higher education | Physical Education - Mauricio de Nassau Faculty: João Pessoa, BRA |
Sport Specific Information | |
When and where did you begin this sport? | He got involved in athletics in 2013. |
Why this sport? | His athletic talent was noticed while he was playing futsal for his school team. He then signed up to compete at a school event and won, despite having never trained and using borrowed shoes. |
Club / Team | Esporte Clube Pinheiros: São Paulo, BRA |
Name of coach | Pedro de Almeida Pereira [personal], from 2014 |
International Debut | |
Year | 2014 |
Competing for | Brazil |
General Interest | |
Hobbies | Listening to music. (Olimpiada Todo Dia YouTube channel, 22 Apr 2020) |
Memorable sporting achievement | Setting a world record in the T47 100m at the 2019 World Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Olimpiada Todo Dia YouTube channel, 22 Apr 2020) |
Most influential person in career | Maria Natividade, who helped him to become an athlete. (Olimpiada Todo Dia YouTube channel, 22 Apr 2020; Athlete, 18 Jul 2017) |
Injuries | In January 2019 he lost two teeth and fractured his upper jaw after diving into a river in Jardim de Piranhas, Brazil. He required surgery, and returned to training in March 2019. (globoesporte.globo.com, 28 Apr 2019; brasil2016.gov.br, 10 Jan 2019; globoesporte.globo.com, 07 Jan 2019) In September 2015 he injured his thigh while competing at a tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He returned to training in early October, but in the same month he sustained a hamstring injury two days before he was set to compete at the 2015 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. He was unable to participate in any of his events at the tournament. (globoesporte.globo.com, 30 Apr 2017; paralympic.org, 31 May 2016; altervista.org, 02 Apr 2016; caixa.gov.br, 07 Oct 2015) |
Sporting philosophy / motto | "Faith, focus and strength." (Olimpiada Todo Dia YouTube channel, 22 Apr 2020) |
Awards and honours | In 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 he was named Para Athletics Athlete of the Year by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee [CPB]. (agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br, 17 Dec 2019; cpb.org.br, 06 Dec 2018; globoesporte.globo.com, 04 Dec 2017, 07 Dec 2016; paralympic.org, 02 Dec 2016) He was named the 2016 Male Paralympic Athlete of the Year in Brazil. (paralympic.org, 08 Dec 2016; globoesporte.globo.com, 07 Dec 2016) |
Ambitions | To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (olimpiadatododia.com.br, 29 Sep 2018) |
Impairment | At age two his arm was amputated below the elbow after an accident with a grinding machine. He had been trying to imitate his father, who used the machine to grind grass to feed the cows on the family's farm. (cpb.org.br, 08 Jun 2017; altervista.org, 02 Apr 2016; ndonline.com.br, 19 Aug 2014) |
Other information | SUPPORT When he was a young athlete he competed at the Brazilian School Games held in Joao Pessoa, Brazil. He was spotted by a coach who wanted him to remain in Joao Pessoa to train, but he did not have the resources to stay in the city. He was then helped with housing by the mother of another young athlete, who was also from his hometown of Sao Jose do Brejo da Cruz, Brazil. He won the gold medal in the T47 100m at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on September 11th, the birthday of the woman who had helped him. "Today is the birthday of a lady who helped me, who housed me, who gave me the chance to practise this sport when I had nothing." (olimpiadas.uol.com.br, 12 Sep 2016) |
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