Athletes in Poznan: Elton Santana and Josiane Lima

World Rowing: How did you get into rowing?
Elton Santana: There is a small lake in front of my house and I had been wanting to go on the water for years but there was no rowing there. Finally, after 20 years and thanks to my sponsors, I could buy my own boat and finally go and row. I just love it and think it is a healthy sport.
Josiane Lima: I was an athlete in judo, soccer, swimming and diving but had an accident with a motorcycle in 2004. This caused an atrophy of my leg and two years after I had another crash. I therefore started rowing in 2006 as part of my rehabilitation. You know, my father is a fisherman and I’ve always been in contact with boats and the ocean as I live in Florianopolis which is an island in the south of Brazil. Coming to rowing was a natural move.

WR: What are your impressions of Poznan and these World Rowing Championships?
ES: I have a great impression; I have been waiting all year for this moment. Poznan is a surprise to me. I was expecting a quiet city but it’s like a tourist place, a welcoming and exciting city. I’m happy to be here because it was very difficult to get this far. Now it is a dream which becomes reality and I want to work hard to get a medal for my country.
JL: We still have to adjust the boat a little bit and work on our technique but I feel confident. I love the camaraderie with the other rowers. We of course represent our country but we are all also one category, the adaptive rowers. We are always joking, talking to each other, even with our opponents.
ES: We, Brazilian guys, are very happy. We love music and have good energy. By the way, Saturday after the finals, we’ll have samba here with the other teams!
JL: We just have one problem, it’s to communicate with the other teams: the language barrier. I sometimes feel embarrassed and therefore decided to go and study English to be able to better communicate next year.
ES: I am also studying English but am only at level 1. Next year I will go for a two-months internship to the USA, in California, thanks to an invitation from the single sculler from USA.

WR: How did you prepare for these World Rowing Championships?
ES: We have been training apart in our own club and only came together a few times. We really live very far away from each other. I live in the north and Josiane in the south. We also had some training camps together. We hope to be able to come to Europe next year for training. When we train together we have a double scull but when I’m alone, I train a lot on the ergometer and on the water in a single, but only a recreational boat. I have a sponsor who paid for the trip here and the first days here in the hotel. We also have the support of the National Paralympic Committee and the National Rowing federation. I work for the city administration as a physical educator and they are my sponsor, together with a private company.

WR: What is your long term goal?
ES: London 2012 Paralympic Games of course! We have three years of very hard work in front of us.

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