Evani Calado is Brazil's Golden Hope
The parathlete Grandha, Evani Calado, arrives at the Tokyo-2020 Paralympics after having won the gold medal in the last edition of the games, in Rio de Janeiro, in 2016. Sponsored by Grandha, the para-athlete faced many challenges until reaching the highest place on the podium.
Evani Calado and Paralympic Boccia
Paralympic boccia is the most inclusive sport in Paralympics. It allows athletes with greater degrees of physical disabilities, such as severe cerebral palsy and quadriplegics, to participate in the Paralympic Movement.
Evani had her first contact with the sport while still at school, when a Physical Education teacher decided he wasn’t going to let her miss out on the practical part of her classes. “He told me he wasn’t going to give me a grade without doing anything. He told me to research bocce, write a report and said my sister would help me. I thought he was going crazy. He brought a PVC pipe and tennis balls to class and that’s how I played bocce for the first time, in an adapted way, of course.”
The player emphasized that the teacher's attitude was completely different and that initiatives like his are very important for inclusion through sports. “I would stay in the classroom during Physical Education classes at school, but this teacher made me leave. He cared and was willing to include me in the class. Attitudes like this make all the difference.”
Years later, while studying Advertising and Publicity, Evani was invited to try the sport again, this time at a club. “At first I didn’t want to go, but my mother insisted. Training was on Saturday mornings, I studied at night and wanted to sleep in on the weekends. At my mother’s insistence, I went and then I didn’t want to stop training.”
Gold Medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympics
The road to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games was difficult, but meteoric. “I spent all day at college training, studying and doing physiotherapy. I couldn’t go home because there was only one adapted bus that could get me there, but that didn’t discourage me,” she says. In less than six years, all the effort was worth it. In Rio de Janeiro, the 27-year-old athlete, Antônio Leme and Evelyn Vieira won Brazil’s first team gold medal in the BC3 class, beating the favorite South Korea 5-2.
Evani played a key role in the golden podium. Thanks to her performance in the first phase, Brazil secured an unprecedented spot in the final. In London 2012, the Brazilian team had not even managed to qualify for the Games. “Winning the gold was a unique feeling. I thought about every disabled person at home, about giving them hope for a different life, for dreaming,” she explains. She recalls that the fans played a key role in the victory. “I felt embraced by the Brazilians. That floor pulsating with the stamping of the fans’ feet brought an energy that infected all of us,” she says.