MARTINS SOARES Icaro Miguel

General
VISION IMPAIRMENT
He has 10% vision in his right eye as the result of an accident when he was age six. His eye became irritated due to the chlorine in a swimming pool, and his mother mistakenly applied ammonia to the eye, believing it was boric acid. The substance burned his cornea, retina and optic nerve and he completely lost vision in the eye. After treatment he initially recovered his vision, but it slowly deteriorated again. "It was an accident. I actually thank my mother for what happened. My mother is my strength in the sport." In 2014 he was due to undergo a cornea transplant, but on the day of the surgery he changed his mind because there was a chance he could completely lose sight in the eye again, jeopardising his sporting career. "I had to make a choice between the transplant and taekwondo. Rehabilitation would also have taken up to two years so I would have missed the [2016] Olympic Games. So I decided I would only undergo surgery after retirement." He does training sessions with his healthy eye covered so he can get used to competing with the impaired eye, which has continued to worsen. "Four years ago [speaking in 2019] I only had one Brazilian title, now I have won a silver medal at the [2019] world championships. And all of that with my eyesight getting worse. It doesn't bother me." (oglobo.globo.com, 07 Jul 2019)

VIRTUAL REALITY TRAINING
He used virtual reality software to allow him to train safely during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The technology simulated how potential opponents would move, and was developed using motion-capture suits worn by members of the Brazilian national team. "It is a gigantic innovation. And it is clear that the priority now is the [2020] OIympic Games, but we can use it to prepare for future competitions too. The equipment offers the chance to study all rivals. The idea is to learn the strengths and weaknesses of everyone. If we can't have in-person contact on a daily basis, it makes tactical work difficult. With this new equipment it is much easier." (insidethegames.biz, 31 Jul 2020; agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br, 28 Jul 2020)

CELEBRATION
When he stands on the podium he covers his impaired eye with his hand. He says the gesture began as a bet he made with friends in 2018 before a competition in Brazil. "As a joke, I said, 'I'm going to win this event and I'm going to celebrate by covering my eye'. They doubted I would, but I won and did it. Everyone thought it was cool and it went viral." (olimpiadatododia.com.br, 09 Apr 2020)