Alan Fonteles Cardoso Oliveira (born August 21, 1992) is a
Paralympian
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...
athlete from
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
competing mainly in category T44 sprint events. Oliveira is a double-below-the-knee amputee, classifying him in the Paralympic T43 class; athletes in this class run in T44 event.
Biography
Oliveira was born in
Marabá, in the state of
Pará
Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana ...
. He had both legs amputated at the age of 21 days, after an intestinal infection led to
sepsis
Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...
. By the age of eight, he was competing in athletics. Oliveira began running with wooden prostheses, and started competing in races in Brazil at age 13. He began running on
carbon-fibre blades at the age of 15, shortly before competing in his first Paralympics in Beijing.
Competing at the
2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was f ...
in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, Oliveira won a silver medal in the
T42–T46 4 × 100 metres relay as part of the Brazilian team, after failing to win a medal in the
T44 200m. At the
2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
he won gold in the
T44 200m, ahead of
Oscar Pistorius who was a favorite to win. Immediately after the race Pistorius caused controversy by criticising the blades Oliveira had used, claiming they were too long and artificially increased his stride length, giving him an unfair advantage. Pistorius' complaint was denied at that time by the
International Paralympic Committee, which stated all athletes were measured prior to the race by a classifier and all blade lengths were approved for competition.
The IPC also confirmed that Pistorius had raised the issue of prosthetic lengths in personal contacts about six weeks prior to the race.
SASCOC
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) ( af, Suid-Afrikaanse Sportkonfederasie en Olimpiese Komitee) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for South Africa, and the respo ...
issued a statement declaring their full support and promising to assist in discussions with the IPC about the issue of blade lengths after the Games. The IPC expressed willingness to discuss the issue. Australian runner
Jack Swift and USA runner
Jerome Singleton
Jerome Singleton (born July 7, 1986) is a Paralympic athlete from the United States competing mainly in category T44 (single below knee amputation) sprint events. Because he had no fibula in his right calf, his leg was amputated below the knee wh ...
, among other athletes, also expressed support for Pistorius' position regarding a possible competitive advantage.
In July 2013 at the Paralympic Anniversary Games in London Oliveira became world's fastest double amputee athlete when he completed the T43 100m race in a time of 10.57 beating his previous record of 10.77 which he had set in Berlin in June 2013.
At the
2016 Summer Paralympics
The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fro ...
, held in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
in his home country of Brazil, Oliveira failed to reach the final of either the 100m or 200m races in the T43 class. He did however win a silver medal in the T42-T47 relay as part of the Brazil team.
See also
*
The Mechanics of Running Blades
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliveira, Alan
1992 births
Living people
Paralympic athletes of Brazil
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Paralympic gold medalists for Brazil
Paralympic silver medalists for Brazil
Brazilian male sprinters
People from Marabá
World record holders in Paralympic athletics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games
Sportspeople from Pará