Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago
Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago (born 2 August 1985) is a Brazilian Paralympic swimmer who competes in international level events. She was a four-time Parapan American Games champion and a double World champion in freestyle swimming.[1][2]
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Full name | Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | Carol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Recife, Brazil | 2 August 1985|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sport | Paralympic swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disability | Morning glory syndrome | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disability class | S12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Gremio Nautico Uniao, Porto Alegre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coached by | Leonardo Tomasello Araujo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Santiago has a congenital eye condition called morning glory syndrome which is a defect in her optic nerve, she is partially sighted in her left eye but doesn't have peripheral vision in her right eye. She began swimming aged four and took part in able-bodied swimming competitions and open water swimming aged twelve. By the age of seventeen, she was completely blind for eight months due to accumulation of water in her retina and stopped swimming. She went back to swimming a decade later aged 27 and started to swim competitively again and in 2019 at the Caixa Open, she broke the Brazilian national record in the 50m freestyle that was set by Fabiana Sugimori at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens.[3]
References
- "Maria Santiago - IPC Athlete Bio". ipc.infostradasports.com. 5 August 2020.
- "Brazil wins its second gold at the World Para Swimming Championships". Parapandelima. 13 September 2019.
- "Estreante em competicoes internacionais Carol Santiago bate recorde mundial nos 100m peito no segundo dia do Open Loteria Caixa (in Portuguese)". Rede Nacional do Esporte. 26 April 2019.