José Antônio Freire assumed the presidency of the Paralympic Committee at the beginning of the year; Brazil broke record in 2024 with 89 medals
The president of the CPB (Brazilian Paralympic Committee), José Antônio Freire, stated that “certainly, Brazil will achieve 4th place” no Los Angeles Paralympics medal tableem 2028.
A 60-year-old native of Pernambuco, José lost his vision at 15, due to a detached retina. Linked to parasports since he was 18, he was a blind football player and, for the last 8 years, commanded the CBDV (Brazilian Confederation of Sports for the Visually Impaired), responsible for football, and also judo and goalballthe only Paralympic sport that is not an adaptation.
“In this last Paralympics [de Paris, na França, em 2024]the modalities administered by CPB [atletismo, natação, halterofilismo e tiro esportivo] They stood out a lot and we need to collaborate with the other confederations, so that other modalities have the same medal success”projected José Antônio, in an interview with Brazil Agency.
At the Paris Paralympics, Brazil won a record 89 medals, 25 of which were gold. The performance placed the country in 5th place on the Games results table. Present in 20 of the 22 sports held in the French capital, the green and yellow delegation reached the podium in 12 of them. In addition to the 4 modalities managed by CPB and 3 by CBDV, medals were won in table tennis, triathlon, canoeing and taekwondo.
“Reaching the top 5 is a very difficult thing. Maintaining it is even more complicated, but, certainly, with the work that has been done and what will be done, I have no doubt that Brazil will continue [no topo] and, who knows, maybe get a 4th place now in Los Angeles [Estados Unidos, em 2028]“said the leader, whose mandate is four years, and can be re-elected for another four years.
José Antônio takes over the place that, for the last 8 years, was held by Mizael Conrado. Two-time Paralympic blind football champion, the 47-year-old from São Paulo was also vice-president of the CPB between 2009 and 2016, when the entity was led by Andrew Parsons, current president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). According to Mizael, the strategic planning developed in 2017 to guide the entity’s actions in the 2 cycles ahead (2020 and 2024) was decisive for the results at the Games.
“We revisited CPB’s mission and brought inclusion to the center of its purpose, which has since become the promotion of Paralympic sport – from initiation to high performance – and the inclusion of people with disabilities in society. This gave rise to a series of new programs, such as Paralympic Education at School, which has already trained more than 62 thousand teachers throughout Brazil; the Reference Centers, where we have sports schools, of which there are now 74 in the country, with more than nine thousand children served; and the Paralympic Festival, which became the gateway to the Paralympic movement [para jovens com deficiência]“detailed the now former president.
“[O planejamento estratégico para os ciclos de 2028 e 2032] It is in a construction phase. I think we will have it consolidated by March or April. We have been doing very strong work at the base, with the prospect that Brazil will continue to advance in this sports policy, discovering new athletes, maintaining what we have today, perhaps even expanding it”assessed José Antônio, who announced Mizael himself to lead the Committee’s General Secretariat.
Another link between the administrations is the vice-presidency, which remains in charge of Yohansson Nascimento for a 2nd term. The 37-year-old from Alagoas, Paralympic gold medalist in the 200 meters in the T46 class (upper limb amputees) took up the position in 2021, months after ending his career on the track, even though he was heading towards the Tokyo Games, in Japan.
“I’m sure I’ve never learned as much about Paralympic sport as I have in the last 4 years. The decision I had as an athlete was individual. Now, any decision I make at CPB will impact collectively and, mainly, people I don’t even know. I know the challenges continue. Our country has continental dimensions, but we have to continue advancing and take Paralympic sport to all regions of Brazil”concluded Yohansson.
With information from
