12 Dec 2011
Claudia Santos, Brazil’s ray of sunshine
She immediately impressed by winning a gold medal in the Arms and Shoulder Women’s single sculls, resetting the world best time in her event at her first international appearance.
Santos made the A Finals at the Beijing Paralympic Games in 2008, finishing in overall sixth position. In 2009, although she kept on training she was unable to participate on the international scene due to lack of funding. This year’s increase in sponsorship has allowed the 33 year-old to return to international competition, and she finished third earlier this season at the international adaptive regatta held during the rowing World Cup in Bled. Her ambition is to become a regular face on the international circuit.
Santos is a professional athlete and has four sources of income which enable her to concentrate fully on training: the federal government programme for international athletes, the city she lives in, Barueri in the state of San Paolo, her rowing club Esporte Clube Pinheiros and a sponsor. This allows Santos to be fully committed to training. She trains mostly on the water, but also on the ergometer when possible, does weight training and swims a lot as this is her second sport. Her only rest day is Sundays, the other days she either has two training sessions in the boat or one in the boat and a swimming session. Her preparation for these World Rowing Championships was no different, to her regular training.
Her disability is the result of a leg amputation at the hip and multiple surgeries, resulting in her not being able to bend her trunk or hips. As a results of this she has been classified in the AS sport class.
World Rowing: What is your goal at the 2010 World Rowing Championships and the coming years?
Claudia Santos: "You only win a race on the water but hopefully I’ll take gold here because this is what I worked for. It’s serious business for me. This would mean being World Champion for a second time and in 2011 I want to go for a third title. Although I take every year one after the other, I of course would like to win a Paralympic medal in 2012! The Games in Brazil are still too far away to think of but it must give you quite a shot of adrenaline to be able to represent your country in front of your home crowd."
WR: What do you do in your free time?
CS: "I love travelling through the countryside but always want to find a place where I can swim. I just love water, any water whether sea or lakes. I’m like a duck: when I see water, I jump in it! I would love to celebrate a medal by jumping in the water and swimming to the pontoons! I think that would be quite a surprise for the officials; I therefore refrain but that would also be a way for me to celebrate this beautiful lake. I have really felt at home and very welcome since I arrived here on 19 October.”
WR: Will you take a break after the World Rowing Championships?
WR: What is your secret for smiling all the time?
CS: “My inner happiness. I’m also in contact with my family on a daily basis and this is really important to me. Family is everything, such as sport is for me now. Actually I was much more sedentary before my accident but I had to do some sport for re-education. This really improved my self-esteem and gave me the courage to go on. It might sound strange but I consider the accident as a blessing because I learned to know myself and it added value to my life. Life goes on and I will keep these feelings for all my life. I love being an athlete. I want to live my life at the fullest, and actually, I think that all adaptive rowers must be praised for their courage!”
Santos shall race in the women’s adaptive single sculls A Final on Lake Karapiro on Thursday 4 November.