Paralympians lose medals and equipment in Brazilian floods before games to secure Paris 2024 place.
Wanderson Chavez has faced many challenges in more than a decade as a Paralympian, but none as severe as the floods in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state.
The water equipment wiped out dozens of medals, and passports and could even destroy the chance to qualify for the Paris Paralympics in September.
Chaves’ ground-floor apartment, ideal for his wheelchair, sits in an elevated area of the state capital, Porto Alegre.
Still, that didn’t keep him from becoming one of the 230,000 people displaced by the floods. Days later, his house remains submerged, his few remaining belongings fit in his car and it affects his mental health ahead of next week’s two key competitions to secure a place at the Paralympics.
“There’s no way it wouldn’t affect me. In order to compete and train well, you need to be mentally fit. And I don’t,” Chaves said at the Gremio Nautico Uniao club, which has been turned into a shelter for about 300 people since the flood began. “I come from a poor area of Porto Alegre. Everything is harder for me to achieve. I’m Black, I’m disabled. And now this.”
The athlete is competing in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games. For many years he was one of America’s best in foil and Fencing. He needs to pick up a few more points in the two races in Sao Paulo to secure a trip to Paris. To get that ticket, he had to rely on donated luggage and an unexpectedly tiring journey, as the Porto Alegre airport was also flooded.
Chaves will travel from Porto Alegre to Florianopolis on Tuesday in a minivan for about 6 hours and 460 kilometers (287 miles). Then he will take a short flight to Sao Paulo, so he can compete from Thursday into the weekend. His main rivals, who come from Argentina and the US, will be training and fine-tuning until then as they seek to overtake the Brazilian in the world rankings and reach Paris.
“I went to my mother-in-law’s house, this is my first day back at the club. It is like war here, I don’t even know whether I would have my mind to train,” said Chaves, who has needed a wheelchair since an accident with a firearm at age 12. “But if there was some training I would be here, that was always my outlet.”
There is little chance that he will return to his apartment anytime soon, as heavy rains are still not in the forecast. Authorities are therefore rushing to rescue survivors of the massive floods that have killed at least 100 people and left another 130 missing. Some residents refused to leave their belongings. Others are returning to evacuated homes despite the risk of more storms.
Thunderstorms with strong winds are expected across the country on Thursday.
Chavez’s coach, Eduardo Nunes, said the Brazilian fencer will face challenges in his quest to qualify for the Paralympics, in addition to mental stress and an unexpectedly long journey.
“He will have new gloves. For a football player, it is like a new pair of shoes. This can cause swelling, and the gloves will not soften. He will also have to soften his clothes, he will not have time to do that and walk with him. It is detailed that little will affect him. But he can overcome all these things,” he said.
Ties from Brazil and the United States have provided clothes and equipment for Chávez. If he wins the seat in Paris, the Brazilian government will give him better resources to compete.
Chávez believes the problem could be positive if he takes his place in Paris. He still hopes to find some medals he won in previous competitions.
“I know a lot of kids, a lot of wheelchairs, that inspire me,” he said. “I can use that to motivate me, and I can use that to motivate me to follow through.”
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the medals, I think there will be more medals next week. That’s what gives me extra motivation. This is because I know that the water is still there.”
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