Oliveira, Coelho, Dias shine in Brazil
03.05.2013The Open Caixa Loterias Athletics and Swimming event took place in Sao Paulo, where Alan Oliveira broke his own 100m T44 Brazilian record.
Alan Fonteles Cardoso Oliveira will defend his title in front of the Brazilian crowd during the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
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Shirlene Coelho (BRA)
© • NPC Brazil
Dias wins gold medal in Men’s 50m Backstroke - S5 on London Paralympics
© • Getty Images
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A number of these new historic marks were achieved by 19 athletes under the age of 24, which is a great indicator of the power of “Generation 2016” on the road to Rio.
The Open Caixa Loterias Athletics and Swimming competition took place last weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the results gave the Brazilian Paralympic movement great hope for the Rio 2016 Games.
The competition marked the opening of the calendar of the new season of international events, with 38 Brazilians setting new records across the two sport competitions.
But it was more than just the Brazilians taking part, as 300 athletes from 11 countries took to the track and field at Icaro de Castro Melo Stadium, in Ibirapuera, and in the swimming pool of Sport Club Corinthians.
The event awarded more than R$75 thousand in prizes to the best competitors and was sponsored by Loterias Caixa and the Ministry of Sports.
A number of these new historic marks were achieved by 19 athletes under the age of 24, which is a great indicator of the power of “Generation 2016” on the road to Rio.
"We were very pleased with the performance level of the Brazilian athletes. We are getting ready to compete in the world championships of these two modalities and almost all of our athletes were able to qualify,” commented Edilson Alves da Rocha, technical director of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB).
The athletics portion served as the third event of seven in this year’s IPC Athletics Grand Prix.
Seasoned athlete, 32-year-old Shirlene Coelho, a champion in London, certainly left her mark on the Open Caixa Loterias. On Saturday (27 April), she broke her own Brazilian record from the London Games (10.60m) by achieving 10.62m at Icaro de Castro Melo Stadium.
Coelho has been training to equal her Chinese rivals, the best athletes in the competition.
“I was not surprised to improve my record at the Open,” she said. “I have been training hard to get to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games and take on my rivals, who are still miles ahead of me.”
Another athlete who scored excellent results was Paralympic champion Alan Oliveira Fonteneles. He broke his own Brazilian record in the 100m T44 class almost beating the world record (10.91) with a time of 10.95.
Competing in his favorite swimming event, multiple Paralympic champion Daniel Dias won two gold medals by finishing the the 50m freestyle in first place, with a time of 33.31, and also winning the 100m freestyle.
Eighteen-year-old Talisson Henrick Glock competed in five races, winning three golds (100m backstroke, 200m medley, 50m butterfly), and finishing second twice (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle).
The boy from Santa Catarina, in the south of Brazil, who had his left arm and leg amputated at the age of nine when he was hit by a train, is now the Brazilian record holder in the 100m backstroke and 200m medley.
