Daniel de Faria Dias (born 24 May 1988) is a Brazilian Paralympic swimmer. Having learnt to swim in 2004 after being inspired by Clodoaldo Silva at the

2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 28 September ...

, he entered his first international competition two years later winning five medals. He competed in a wide range of swimming events at the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2020 Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralympi ...

and won 27 medals, including 14 gold medals.

Early life

Dias was born in 1988 in

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in São Paulo (state), São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's popul ...

, a city to the north of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. He was born with malformed upper and lower limbs. Dias began swimming at the age of 16, after being inspired by Clodoaldo Silva competing at the

, and learned four styles of swimming in two months. He studied mechatronical engineering and

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

at the Universidade São Francisco.

Career

His first major event was the 2006

IPC Swimming World Championships The World Para Swimming Championships, known also as the IPC Swimming World Championships, are the world championships for swimming where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Prev ...

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. He won the gold medal in three events, and a silver medal in a further two. At the age of 20, he competed in his first

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

at Beijing in

. The Games proved highly successful for Dias, who won more medals than any other athlete. He received a total of nine medals including four golds, four silvers, and one bronze across a range of different distances and disciplines. Dias won the Laureus Award in 2009 for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability, being awarded it by British athlete

Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British sports administrator, former politician and retired track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, incl ...

at a ceremony in London. Dias was an ambassador for his country's bid for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

and

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

, and was present for the presentation of the Candidature File to the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

Dias won the Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability for the second time in 2012 after winning 6 gold medals all in world record time at the 2012 Paralympic Games. , he holds IPC long course swimming world records in all strokes, at a range of distances – 50, 100 and 200 metre freestyle (S5), 50 and 100 metres backstroke (S5), 50 and 100 metres butterfly (S5), 50 and 100 metres breaststroke (SB4) and 200 metre individual medley (SM5). In 2016 he was compared to

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

, a retired non-Paralympic American competitive swimmer. Despite such an honorable comparison Daniel Dias said that he is Daniel Dias.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dias, Daniel 1988 births Living people Paralympic gold medalists for Brazil Paralympic silver medalists for Brazil Paralympic bronze medalists for Brazil Paralympic swimmers for Brazil Laureus World Sports Awards winners World record holders in paralympic swimming Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics S5-classified para swimmers Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in swimming Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Medalists at the 2007 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Parapan American Games Brazilian male freestyle swimmers Brazilian male backstroke swimmers Brazilian male breaststroke swimmers Brazilian male butterfly swimmers Brazilian male medley swimmers Sportspeople from Campinas 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen Parapan American Games medalists in swimming Parapan American Games gold medalists for Brazil