 Almeida and Landgraf at the 2016 Paralympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Born | 27 August 1977 Santa Isabel do Ivaí, Brazil |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics, sailing |
Marinalva de Almeida (born 27 August 1977) is a Brazilian Paralympic athlete and model.
Almeida was born in Santa Isabel do Ivaí, Paraná in 1977. She and her five siblings moved away when she was four. [1] When she was fifteen and living in Mato Grosso do Sul she had her leg amputated as the result of a car accident. She had borrowed a boy's bike and a car had crushed her leg. Although amputation was the doctors proposed action her mother refused them permission. Her sister's intercession allowed the operation to be performed. [1] As a part of her recovery she tried various sports. A year later she married and had three children in São Paulo state. [2]
She was introduced to sport by a friend who persuaded her to enter a race. She then took a gymnastics course at Senai. An early race was one designed for amputees who at that time completed the 10 km race using crutches. [3] In 2012 she completed a 15 km course on crutches. [2]
Almeida competed in sailing at the 2016 Paralympics, together with Bruno Landgraf. They placed eighth in the Skud 18 class. [4]
Amy Michelle Purdy is an American actress, model, para-snowboarder, motivational speaker, clothing designer and author. Purdy is a 2014 Paralympic bronze medalist, 2018 Paralympics silver medalist, and co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports.
Sarah Reinertsen is an American Paralympic triathlete and former track athlete. She was born with proximal femoral focal deficiency, a bone-growth disorder; her affected leg was amputated above the knee at age seven.
Pascale Noa Bercovitch is a Franco-Israeli writer, Israeli film director and paralympic athlete.
Aimee Mullins is an American athlete, actress, and public speaker. She was born with a medical condition that resulted in the amputation of both of her legs beneath the knee. She is the first amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes in National Collegiate Athletic Association events, and competed in the Paralympics in 1996 in Atlanta. In 1999, she began modeling, and, in 2002, she began an acting career. She has periodically spoken at conferences, including TED Talks.
S7, SB6, SM7 are disability swimming classifications used for categorizing swimmers based on their level of disability. Swimmers in this class have use of their arms and trunk. They have limited leg function or are missing a leg or parts of both legs. This class includes a number of different disabilities including people with amputations and cerebral palsy. The classification is governed by the International Paralympic Committee, and competes at the Paralympic Games.
Para triathlon is a variant of the triathlon for athletes with a physical disability. The sport is governed by World Triathlon, and was first held as a Paralympic event at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Kelly Cartwright is an Australian athlete and powerlifter. She won two medals at the London 2012 Paralympics, and represented Australia in the Beijing 2008 Paralympics.
Oksana Masters is an American multi-sport Paralympic athlete of Ukrainian descent from Louisville, Kentucky. Having primarily specialized in rowing and cross-country skiing, she won the first ever United States medal in trunk and arms mixed double sculls at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. She was also a part of the U.S. Nordic skiing team at the 2014 Winter Paralympics and the 2018 Winter Paralympics. She won two Paralympic medals in 2014 and five Paralympic medals in 2018, including two gold. She switched to para-cycling after the 2012 Paralympics and competed at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics, winning two gold medals at the latter. She competed at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, winning a gold medal in Biathlon – Women's 6 kilometres, sitting.
Romania competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, held between 7–16 March 2014. This was Romania's second appearance at a Winter Paralympic Games. The Romanian delegation consisted of one alpine skier, Laura Valeanu, who finished fifth in the slalom and seventh in the giant slalom.
Bibian Mentel-Spee was a Dutch three-fold Winter Paralympics gold-medalist, and five-times world champion para-snowboarding athlete. Mentel won the Paralympic gold medal in the snowboard cross discipline in the 2014 and 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, as well as in the banked slalom in 2018, despite battling cancer nine times since the beginning of the century. She won her 2018 medals at age 45.
Malawi competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 7 to 18 September 2016. The country's participation in Rio marked its debut appearance in the quadrennial event, although it had competed in the Summer Olympics ten times since the 1972 Games. The delegation consisted of a single middle-distance runner, Taonere Banda, who qualified for the games by using a wildcard. She was chosen as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony and was disqualified from her event, the 1500 metres (T13), for moving outside her lane during her heat.
Judith Hamer is a 4.0 point British wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games. She won a Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award for bravery and trekked across the Andes Mountains in Ecuador as part of a reality television show, Beyond Boundaries.
Bruno Landgraf das Neves is a Brazilian Paralympic athlete and former association footballer. A promising goalkeeper who had won the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship with the Brazil under-17 team, Landgraf saw his football career end with a car accident in 2006. While he drove back from his family's home at São Lourenço da Serra along with four friends he lost control of the vehicle at the Rodovia Régis Bittencourt and had the car roll over. Two of the passengers, a fellow young goalie from Bruno's club São Paulo FC and a female volleyballers, died on the crash, while Bruno was gravely injured. Affected with tetraplegia, he spent eight months at the hospital, three of those unable to talk or eat. In 2009, Landgraf decided to take up sailing as it had opportunities for disabled athletes. By 2011, sailing in the SKUD 18 class with Elaine Pedroso da Cunha, he managed to qualify for the 2012 Summer Paralympics that would happen in London. Landgraf and Cunha finished last overall in the Paralympics. Aiming to appear in the next Paralympic cycle, Landgraf moved to Niterói, where he would train with new partner Marinalva de Almeida. In the 2016 Summer Paralympics at Rio de Janeiro, they finished in eighth place.
Billy Edmund Albert Monger is a British racing driver who raced in British F4 in 2016 and 2017. He now works as a commentator/pundit and TV personality. He has been referred to by the nickname Billy Whizz. after the character in British comic The Beano.
Mariann Marthinsen is a Norwegian cross-country skier and swimmer. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, and won Norway's only gold medal at 2014 Winter Paralympics.
Romania sent a competitor to the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Romania's sole competitor was Mihaita Papară, in para-snowboarding. Romania first went to the Winter Paralympics in 2010. The country has never won a medal at the Winter Games. At the 2010 and 2014 Games, Romania was represented by one skier, Laura Văleanu.
Megan Fisher is a Canadian-American Paralympic athlete. She has won one gold, two silver, and one bronze medal for Team USA at the Paralympic Games.
Vanessa Cristina de Souza is a Brazilian wheelchair racer, who came fourth at the 2021 Boston and Chicago Marathons. She competed in multiple events at the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Aline dos Santos Rocha is a Brazilian wheelchair racer and skier, who came third at the 2021 Berlin Marathon, and won multiple medals at the 2023 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships. She competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and the 2018 and 2022 Winter Paralympics.
Femita Ayanbeku is an American Paralympic athlete of Haitian and Nigerian descent, she competes in sprinting events at international track and field competitions. She is a World bronze medalist and has competed at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics.
