Laís da Silva Souza (born December 13, 1988) is a Brazilian former artistic gymnast and aerial skier. Souza represented Brazilian gymnastics team internationally from 2003 to 2008 and helped the Brazilian team qualify for two

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

. In 2013, she took up the winter sport of

freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...

, and qualified in the aerials event for the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

, but was paralyzed in an accident during training weeks before the Olympics.

Gymnastics career

2003–2004

Lais da Silva Souza's first important competition on the Brazilian team was in the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

, where Brazil placed third in team competition, behind Team USA and Team Canada. That same year, in the

2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 37th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Anaheim, California, United States, from 16 to 24 August 2003. Tie-breakers were not used at this competition. If two gymnasts received identical scores in the event finals, they were ...

, she was on the Brazilian team that qualified for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Team Brazil placed eighth overall in the 2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. In her first Olympic Games, Team Brazil place ninth overall and da Silva Souza scored 9.387 on vault, 8.762 on bars, 9.375 on beam and 8.675 on floor.

2005–2008

In 2005, she competed in the São Paulo World Cup scoring 15.112, placing second on vault.

Cheng Fei Cheng Fei (; born May 29, 1988) is a retired Chinese artistic gymnast. She is a three-time World Champion on the vault (2005–2007) and 2006 World Champion on floor exercise. She was a member of the gold medal-winning Chinese teams for the 2 ...

was the gold medalist (15.6) and Elena Zamolodchikova was the bronze medalist (14.875). Souza took part in

2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 39th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Aarhus, Denmark, from October 13 to October 21, 2006. The International Gymnastics Federation, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2006, introduced a new Code of Points at the ...

and placed fourth on vault, scoring 14.987. Oksana Chusovitina was the bronze medalist (15.1), Alicia Sacramone was the silver medalist (15.325) and Cheng Fei was the gold medalist (15.712). She was also eighth on floor (14.75) and Brazil was seventh in team competition. In 2006, she was the Brazilian Sportswoman of the Year. In 2007, Laís won 3 medals in the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

. Brazil placed second in the team final, behind Team USA. She was third on vault (14.650) and bars (15.050). She also helped the Brazilian team to qualify an entire team for the Summer Olympics for the second time at the

2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 40th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar r ...

. In the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Brazil placed eighth in the team final, the best team result for Brazil so far. Her best individual result during that Olympics was 26th on bars (14.775).

2011–2012

Souza returned to competition in 2011 after a three-year break during which she worked on recovering from injuries. After several knee surgeries, she resumed her training and was named to her third Olympic team in June 2012. Just weeks before the Games, Souza suffered an injury to her hand during a training session on bars and was forced to withdraw from competition. She was replaced by Ethiene Franco.

Skiing career

2014

In 2014, it was announced that Souza would compete for Brazil as an aerial skier at the 2014 Olympic Games. While training in

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City' ...

on January 28, 2014, she suffered a neck injury after hitting a tree. The

Brazilian Olympic Committee The Brazilian Olympic Committee or BOC ( pt, Comitê Olímpico do Brasil – COB) is the highest authority in Brazilian sport and the governing body of Brazilian Olympic sport. It was officially founded on June 8, 1914, but World War I cause ...

announced that she was unable to move her arms or legs following the accident, though she was awake and able to follow commands, and that she sustained "severe trauma". She was initially treated at the

University of Utah Medical Center The University of Utah Hospital is a research and teaching hospital on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It serves as a major regional referral center for Utah and the surrounding states of Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Monta ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. Because of the injury, Souza was not able to compete in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. She had only been skiing for six months prior to the injury, though her relative inexperience did not play a role in the accident. Souza initially relied on a breathing machine; the tube was moved from her mouth to her neck to make her more comfortable. She could not talk, but had the ability to nod when asked questions. Souza was later moved to

Jackson Memorial Hospital Jackson Memorial Hospital (also known as "Jackson" or abbreviated "MJMH") is a non-profit, tertiary care hospital, the primary teaching hospital of the University of Miami's School of Medicine, and the largest hospital in the United States with 1,5 ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and no longer relied on a breathing machine, though she was still unable to move or feel her limbs."Brazilian Olympic Freestyle Skier Treated at SoFla Hospital"
''nbcmiami.com''. Souza is paralyzed from the neck down and is learning to use an electric wheelchair.Zaccardi, Nick (March 14, 2014)
"Paralyzed Brazil Olympic gymnast turned skier learning electric wheelchair"
''nbcsports.com''. After requesting help in learning to speak English so she could communicate with her doctors, the Brazilian Olympic Committee provided her with a teacher from

Education First EF Education First (abbreviated as EF) is an international education company that specializes in language training, educational travel, academic degree programs, and cultural exchange. The company was founded in 1965 by Bertil Hult in the Swe ...

.Panja, Tariq (March 13, 2014)
"Paralyzed Brazilian Skier Gets Help From Rio Olympic Organizers"
''bloomberg.com''. She underwent a treatment with stem cells at

Miami Project to Cure Paralysis The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis is a spinal cord injury research center and a designated Center of Excellence at the University of Miami's Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. The Miami Project was co-founded in 1985 by Bar ...

. After that, she regained some sensation in parts of her feet and legs.

Personal life

In February 2015, she

came out as gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

in an interview for Brazilian magazine ''TPM'', saying: "I have a girlfriend, I've been gay for some years. I had some boyfriends, but I'm gay now".Já, Bahia (February 11, 2015)
"Lais Souza tem apoio do Miami Projetct to Cure Paralysis para melhorar"
''bahiaja.com.br''.

Results

2003 *

Bronze Medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

, team,

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. * 4th, vault,

. * 8th, team,

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. 2004 * 9th, team,

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. 2005 *

Silver Medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

, vault, World Cup.

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

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 ...

. 2006 * 7th, team,

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. * 4th, vault,

. * 8th, floor,

. 2007 *

, team, 2007 Panamerican Games.

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 b ...

. *

, vault, 2007 Panamerican Games.

. *

, uneven bars, 2007 Panamerican Games.

. * 5th, team,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. 2008 * 8th, team,

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

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 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Souza, Lais Living people 1988 births Brazilian female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2003 Pan American Games Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2007 Pan American Games Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Pan American Games bronze medalists for Brazil Brazilian female freestyle skiers People with tetraplegia Brazilian LGBT sportspeople Brazilian bisexual women LGBT gymnasts Bisexual sportswomen Pan American Games medalists in gymnastics South American Games gold medalists for Brazil South American Games medalists in gymnastics Competitors at the 2002 South American Games LGBT skiers Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games 20th-century Brazilian women 21st-century Brazilian women Sportspeople from Ribeirão Preto