Clodoaldo Silva - swimmer, Paralympic athlete

In the Olympic Games of Athens, 2004, Brazil won five gold medals (namely: Robert Scheidt, sailing Laser class; Torben Grael and Marcelo Ferreira, sailing Star class; volleyball men's team; beach volley women's team; Rodrigo Pessoa, equestrian jumping).

In the Paralympic Games, Clodoaldo Silva, alone, won six gold medals and one silver medal. He is by far the best Paralympic swimmer in History.
Clodoaldo was born in Natal. He was unknown by many, until 2004. After he won in Athens, the media showed a little of his life and routine: of poor family, he needed help to board on buses to get to the public club where he used to train.

In 2006, Clodoaldo had another impressive performance in the Paralympic World Cup, in Manchester, UK.
Invited to be Ambassador at the Pan-American Games which will happen in Rio de Janeiro in 2007, Clodoaldo will stay until the end of 2007 in Rio, sponsored by the Industry Federation of Rio, working in social programs.

Visit Clodoaldo's official page: www.clodoaldosilva.com.br.

The following biography is a translation of this page:

"Clodoaldo Silva is aged 26 and started swimming as a rehabilitation process in 1996, in Natal. In 1998, he participated in his first Brazilian championship, where he won nothing less than three gold medals. Since 1999, he has been collecting international titles for Brazil. In 2000, when he disputed his first Paralympics, in Sydney, Australia, he won four medals, being three silver and one bronze.

Since before going to Athens, the "Paralympic Shark" was surprising by his high performance. In the World Championship, in 2002, Argentina, he set three world records in 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle. Since after, he didn't stop winning medals and breaking his own records everytime he entered a competition.

In the Athens Paralympics in Athens 2004, the athlete won six gold medals and one silver medal out of the eight styles he competed. Clodoaldo entered History of Brazilian Paralympic swimming as its greatest medal winner. He also entered the History of Paralympic Sports for winning, in a single Paralympic Games, six gold medals, setting four world records, fiver paralympic records and eleven American records. In the History of the World Paralympic Games, his name was inscripted in the third position of total medals won, among all the 4000 athletes who competed in Grecia. If he were a country, he would be ahead of powers such as Holland and Italy.

Today, Clodoaldo is an idol in Brazil. His achievements are admired the world over. His name was appointed for the most important prize in the world of sports: Prize Laureus, the Oscar of sports.

Besides being a champion, the swimmer is also an example of life. He suffered cerebral paralysis by lack of oxygen at birth delivery, which affected the movements of his legs and a slight compromising in motor coordination. For the future, the "Paralympic Shark" dreams of studying Psichology and to specialize in Sports Psychology."



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