Chapecoense goalkeeper visits Brazilian Paralympic Centre
23.02.2017
Jakson Follmann was one of only six survivors of the tragic plane crash that killed 71 people, and tried Para sport for the first time.
The Brazilian Paralympic Centre had a special visitor on Wednesday (22 February), as the former Chapecoense goalkeeper and plane crash survivor Jakson Follmann spent the day in the newly built facility in Sao Paulo to try Para sport.
The 24-year-old athlete is one of only six survivors of the plane crash that killed 71 people in November 2016, including players, coaches and staff of the Brazilian football club.
The team was travelling to Colombia to play the final of Copa Sudamericana against Colombian side Atletico Nacional when the aircraft crashed just before landing in Medellin.
As a result of the accident, Follmann underwent an amputation below his right knee and also has limited movement in his left foot.
Follmann was accompanied by Brazilian National Paralympic Committee Vice President Mizael Conrado and Renato Leite, who plays for the Brazilian national sitting volleyball team.
"It was an extraordinary moment for me,” Follmann said. “That is the kind of day I will take with me for the rest of my life. I could get in touch with people from different sports and it was amazing. I am glad to see that limitation is something that just exists in people's minds.
"Everybody in here is able to do more now than they did before their impairments. That fuels me even more to work on the recovery and do a lot of stuff moving forward. This was an unforgettable day."
Follmann played sitting volleyball with Leite and watched the swimming and athletics national teams practice in the Brazilian Paralympic Centre. He spoke briefly with Paralympic medallists like track and field athletes Yohansson do Nascimento, Lorena Spoladore and Ricardo Costa Oliveira.
Conrado said: "It is an honour to host Follmann here. He has that mindset and is a person who shows a lot of resiliency. Definitely someone who is special. The Brazilian Paralympic Committee is entirely at his disposal and we believe, because of his physical potential and sports history that he can become a great Paralympic athlete."