Gold, silver, bronze

Brazil won one of each kind of medal on the first day of the Tokyo Paralympics. The first Brazilian medal went to Gabriel Geraldo, who won silver in the 100 meter S2 backstroke. (S class events are categorized from S1 to S10, where the lower the number, the more severe the activity limitation.) On Instagram, he said

“Essa foi para o senhor, Vô. Obrigado por me mandarem tantas energias positivas e toda torcida que, sem dúvidas, faz a diferença”.
”That was for you, Grandpa. Thank you all for sending me so many positive energies and all the cheering which, without a doubt, makes the difference.”

According to UOL sports coverage: “In the final, Gabriel, who has phocomelia, a congenital disease that impedes normal formation of arms and legs, started in front of his rivals, taking advantage of his underwater swimming in the first meters of the race. Without any arms and propelled by the dolphin action of his body, he succeeded in completing the first 50 meters in front.”

Brazil’s first-day bronze went to Daniel Dias, and that was his 25th Paralympic medal (of which 14 are gold), having podiumed in four consecutive games. Among the greatest Paralympian swimmers ever, Dias faces new challenges in these games because of competition from recently reclassified athletes. As UOL sports explained: “This is the case of the Italian Francesco Bocciardo, who was already an Olympic champion in class S6 and who was moved down to a class in which the athletes have greater functional difficulties and, therefore, are slower. This reclassification of rivals, which caused a lot of controversy in the Paralympic movement, caused Daniel Dias to have several world records broken. Even so, however, he continues among the best in the world. And he proved that by winning third in the 200 meter free today, behind Bocciardo, who broke the Paralympic record with 2:26:76, and the Spaniard Antoni Ponce Bertran, with a time of 2:35:20. The difference of eight seconds between first and second places shows how questionable Bocciardo’s reclassification was.”

And Brazil’s first gold in these games went to Gabriel Bandeira, who won the 100 meter butterfly in S14 class, dedicated to athletes with intellectual impairments. The Brazilian Paralympic Committee tweeted:

E O PRIMEIRO OURO, VEM COMO? Gabriel Bandeira mostrou que veio mesmo para brilhar nas piscinas de Tóquio! Com direito a recorde paralímpico! Estou feliz e não é pouco

AND HOW DID THE FIRST GOLD COME? Gabriel Bandeira showed that he really came to shine in the pools of Tokyo! Reserving the right to a Paralympic record! I’m happy and not a little