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Daniel Dias
	Dias at the 2016 Paralympics
Personal information
Full name	Daniel de Faria Dias
Nickname	Dani
Nationality	Brazilian
Born	24 May 1988 (age 36); Campinas, São Paulo
Website	www.danieldias.esp.br
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing Brazil
Paralympic Games
Parapan American Games
IPC Swimming World Championships

Daniel de Faria Dias (born 24 May 1988) is a Brazilian Paralympic swimmer. Having learnt to swim in 2004 after being inspired by Clodoaldo Silva at the 2004 Summer Paralympics, he entered his first international competition two years later winning five medals. He competed in a wide range of swimming events at the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Paralympics and won 27 medals, including 14 gold medals.^[1]

Early life

Dias was born in 1988 in Campinas, a city to the north of São Paulo. He was born with malformed upper and lower limbs.^[2] Dias began swimming at the age of 16, after being inspired by Clodoaldo Silva competing at the 2004 Summer Paralympics,^[3] and learned four styles of swimming in two months.^[4] He studied mechatronical engineering and physical education at the Universidade São Francisco.^[3]

Career

His first major event was the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships in Durban, South Africa. He won the gold medal in three events, and a silver medal in a further two.^[2] At the age of 20, he competed in his first Paralympic Games at Beijing in 2008. The Games proved highly successful for Dias, who won more medals than any other athlete. He received a total of nine medals including four golds, four silvers, and one bronze across a range of different distances and disciplines.^[4]

Dias won the Laureus Award in 2009 for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability,^[5] being awarded it by British athlete Sebastian Coe at a ceremony in London.^[6] Dias was an ambassador for his country's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, and was present for the presentation of the Candidature File to the International Olympic Committee.^[6]

Dias won the Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability for the second time in 2012 after winning 6 gold medals all in world record time at the 2012 Paralympic Games.^[7]^[8]

As of February 2013^[update], he holds IPC long course swimming world records in all strokes, at a range of distances – 50, 100 and 200 metre freestyle (S5), 50 and 100 metres backstroke (S5), 50 and 100 metres butterfly (S5), 50 and 100 metres breaststroke (SB4) and 200 metre individual medley (SM5).^[9]

In 2016 he was compared to Michael Phelps, a retired non-Paralympic American competitive swimmer. Despite such an honorable comparison Daniel Dias said that he is Daniel Dias.^[10]

References

^ "Daniel Dias". Rio2016.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Athlete of the Month: August 2010: Daniel Dias". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Daniel Dias Biography". IPC. Archived from the original on 8 December 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Daniel Dias". Laureus. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
^ "Daniel Dias Wins Laureus Award 2009". Paralympic.org. 15 June 2009. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Rio 2016 ambassador Daniel Dias wins 2009 Laureus Disability Award". Chinese Olympic Committee. 16 June 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
^ "World Sports Awards 2013: The Winners". Laureus. 11 March 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
^ "Dias wins second Laureus World Sports Award". IPC. 12 March 2013. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
^ "IPC Swimming World Records – Long Course". IPC. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
^ Marissa Payne (9 September 2016). "Brazilian Paralympic swimmer on being compared to Michael Phelps: 'I'm Daniel Dias'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 April 2018.

External links

Official website (in Brazilian Portuguese)
Daniel Dias at the International Paralympic Committee
Daniel Dias at IPC.InfostradaSports.com (archived)
Daniel Dias on Twitter

Awards
Preceded by Matthew Cowdrey Matthew Cowdrey	World Disabled Swimmer of the Year 2009–2011 2013	Succeeded by Matthew Cowdrey Ian Silverman
Preceded by Oscar Pistorius	Laureus World Sportsperson with a Disability of the Year 2013	Succeeded by Marie Bochet