COSTA de OLIVEIRA Silvania

Classification
T11, F11 (IPC, 06 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (cpb.org.br, 21 Jan 2013)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (cpb.org.br, 21 Jan 2013)

Impairment Details
At age 11 she was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a deteriorating genetic eye condition that affects central vision. (espnw.espn.uol.com.br, 14 Apr 2016)

General
MATERNITY BREAK
She won the gold medal in the T11 long jump at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro without knowing she was two months pregnant at the time. She returned to training just 30 days after giving birth to son Joao Guilherme, but missed the qualifying for the 2017 World Championships in London, England. "It is not easy. It is the hardest moment in my career. I didn't know that the return to the track after my pregnancy would be much harder than when I started. It was too much time away, but my willpower is bigger than my pain." (paralympic.org, 23 Apr 2018; globoesporte.globo.com, 16 Sep 2017; jpnews.com.br, 11 Mar 2017)

INSTITUTE
In 2017 she founded the Silvania Oliveira Institute in Tres Lagoas, Brazil. The scheme is a social project that aims to take children off the streets by encouraging them to get involved in athletics. "I always dreamed about this project. Tres Lagoas needed it. I started here, I know the difficulties and I know what an athlete needs to start up. The city has a lot of children in need. So there isn't anything better than to help my own city." (treslagoas.ms.gov.br, 28 Jun 2017; jpnews.com.br, 11 Mar 2017)

SANCTION
In August 2019 she was suspended for 20 months by the Brazilian Agency for Doping Control [ABCD] after testing positive for the prohibited substance dimethylamylamine at an event in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She was cleared to compete after 16 months after it was found that her guide had incorrectly handed her a supplement that belonged to him, which contained the prohibited substance. She returned to training in February 2021. "When I found out about the positive test I couldn't believe it. I didn't remember taking anything different from my authorised supplements. I kept thinking back and remembered a session where I asked my guide to give me my supplement, which was in my bag. We looked at the images from the cameras and saw that he gave me his supplement." (omarvado.com.br, 23 Jan 2021; perfilnews.com.br, 20 Jan 2021; ABCD suspension list, 05 Jan 2021; hojemais.com.br, 23 Nov 2019)