João Gonçalves Filho (7 December 1934 – 27 June 2010) was a Brazilian sportsman. He competed in five

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

in both

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

and

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

. Born in

Rio Claro, São Paulo Rio Claro is a city in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The elevation is 613 m. It was incorporated as the village of '' São João Batista do Ribeirão Claro'' in 1827, and this incorporation is celebrated every year on June 24 as a municipal h ...

, he represented Brazil in swimming at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics and in water polo at the 1960, 1964, and 1968 Olympics. Gonçalves swam for

Fluminense Football Club Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest Association football, football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato B ...

, where he met future wife Wilma, part of the club's

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

team. He studied Physical Education in the military academy alongside future Olympic track and field champion Adhemar da Silva, becoming a

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

enthusiast and black belt.O Herói Oculto
''Trip'' At the inaugural

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

, in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, he won a silver medal in the 4×200-metre freestyle, along with

Aram Boghossian Aram Boghossian (born 19 November 1929) is a former international freestyle swimmer from Brazil. He was born in Rio de Janeiro. As of 2004 he was still swimming in the Masters' category. Graduated in engineering, at the age of 60 he returned to ...

Ricardo Capanema Ricardo Esberad Capanema (19 September 1933 – 10 May 1998) was an international freestyle swimmer from Brazil. At the inaugural Pan American Games in 1951, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he won a silver medal in the 4×200-metre freestyle, along ...

, and Tetsuo Okamoto. At the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, he swam the 100-metre backstroke and the 4×200-metre freestyle, not reaching the final. At the

1955 Pan American Games The 1955 Pan American Games, officially known as II Pan American Games () and commonly known as Mexico 1955 (), opened on March 12, 1955, at University Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico, in front of a capacity crowd of 100,000 spectators. A total ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, he finished 4th in the 100-metre backstroke, and 4th in the 4 × 100-metre medley. The following year, at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, he swam the 100-metre backstroke, not reaching the final. Afterwards, Gonçalves moved to

Esporte Clube Pinheiros The Esporte Clube Pinheiros, founded on 7 September 1899, by German immigrants, under the name Sport Club Germânia (Sport Club Germany), is a multi-sports and social club located in the Brazilian metropolis São Paulo. The full name of the cl ...

in São Paulo, where he practiced water polo and attended law school at

Mackenzie Presbyterian University Mackenzie Presbyterian University (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie'') is a private university in São Paulo, Brazil. The Mackenzie Presbyterian University is an institution of higher learning that has a st ...

. For extra earnings, he also became a trucker. He won the bronze medal at the

1959 Pan American Games The 1959 Pan American Games, officially known as the III Pan American Games and commonly known as Chicago 1959, were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially su ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, a gold medal at the

1963 Pan American Games The 1963 Pan American Games, officially known as the IV Pan American Games () and commonly known as São Paulo 1963, were held from April 20 to May 5, 1963, in São Paulo, Brazil. Host city selection For the first time, two cities submitted b ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, and a silver at the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games, officially known as the V Pan American Games () and commonly known as Winnipeg 1967, were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. At

Rome 1960 Rome 1960 may refer to: * The 1960 Summer Olympics, held in Rome, Italy * The 1960 Summer Paralympics The 9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games, retroactively designated as the 1960 Summer Paralympics, were the first international Para ...

Tokyo 1964 The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseque ...

and

Mexico City 1968 The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

, he finished 13th with the Brazilian Water Polo team. He was given the honour to carry the national flag of Brazil at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

, becoming the tenth water polo player to be a

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a colour-bearer or flag-bearer, is a person who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Retired from practicing sports, Gonçalves Filho became a

coach, first for

and eventually the Brazilian national team starting in 1978. He advocated weightlifting and extensive training to ensure the Brazilian got physiques matching the Eastern European ones. Gonçalves attended the Barcelona 1992 and

Atlanta 1996 Atlanta 1996 may refer to: * 1996 Summer Olympics * 1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a bud ...

, seeing Pinheiros judoka

Aurélio Miguel Aurélio Fernández Miguel (born 10 March 1964) is a Brazilian judoka and Olympic champion, and later politician. Among his best sporting achievements are his gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and a bronze medal at the 1996 Summ ...

win a bronze medal in the latter. Other three Brazilian medallists in Judo, Douglas Vieira,

Tiago Camilo Tiago Henrique de Oliveira Camilo (born 24 May 1982) is a judoka from Brazil, who won the silver medal in the lightweight (73 kg) division at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He also won a gold medal at the 2007 World Judo Championships, and wa ...

, and

Leandro Guilheiro Leandro Marques Guilheiro (born 7 August 1983) is a Brazilian male judoka. He won bronze medals in the lightweight (73 kg) division at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece and at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing Beijing, Chi ...

, also trained under Gonçalves. He died in June 2010, of liver failure during a femur surgery. His grandson,

Gustavo Guimarães Gustavo de Freitas Guimarães (born 24 January 1994) is a water polo player from Brazil. He was part of the Brazilian team at the 2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially ...

, follows his legacy and is part of the current Brazilian water polo team.Revelação do polo aquático quer honrar avô que foi a sete Olimpíadas
/ref>

References

External links

*
João Gonçalves Filho's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goncalves, Joao Filho 1934 births 2010 deaths Sportspeople from Rio Claro, São Paulo Brazilian male freestyle swimmers Brazilian male water polo players Swimmers at the 1951 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1955 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1960 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1964 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for Brazil Olympic water polo players for Brazil Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Pan American Games water polo players for Brazil Pan American Games bronze medalists for Brazil Brazilian male backstroke swimmers Pan American Games silver medalists in swimming Competitors at the 1959 Pan American Games Water polo players at the 1963 Pan American Games Water polo players at the 1967 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1951 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen Esporte Clube Pinheiros swimmers Pan American Games gold medalists in water polo Pan American Games silver medalists in water polo Pan American Games bronze medalists in water polo

See also

References

External links