Adriano started in the sport as a rehabilitation process after suffering an accident that left him paraplegic at the age of 17
Former swimmer from Rio Grande do Norte Adriano Gomes de Lima died this Saturday (7) in Natal. Owner of nine medals at Paralympic Gamess, he was 52 years old and treated a bone cancer since 2024. “Adriano is among the greatest Paralympic medalists in the history of Brazil, with one gold, five silvers and three bronzes, won in six editions of the Games”, stated the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB).
“Our condolences to family and friends. May the Adriano’s trajectory will always be remembered!”, added the CPB. The former swimmer competed in the Games of Atlanta-1996, Sydney-2000, Athens-2004, Beijing-2008, London-2012 and Rio-2016.
Adriano started swimming as a rehabilitation process after suffer an accident that left him paraplegico at 17 years old. He was working on a construction site and fell from a roof.
In addition to being one of Brazil’s greatest medalists in the Paralympic Games, Adriano participated in five editions of the Parapan American Games and won 30 medals. At the swimming world championships, he reached the podium on 12 occasions.
Specialist in freestyle swimming, the native of Rio Grande do Norte was among the athletes honored by CPB in 2025 during the celebrations of the entity’s 30th anniversary, due to its contribution to the development of parasports in Brazil.
*With Agência Estado
