GOMES SANTIAGO Maria Carolina

Classification
S12, SB12, SM12 (IPC, 16 Jun 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (cpb.org.br, 05 Apr 2020; folhape.com.br, 01 Jul 2019)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (cpb.org.br, 05 Apr 2020; folhape.com.br, 01 Jul 2019)

Impairment Details
She was born with morning glory syndrome, a defect in the optic nerve. She only sees shapes with her left eye and does not have peripheral vision in her right eye. (cpb.org.br, 05 Apr 2020; folhape.com.br, 01 Jul 2019)

General
SWIMMING COMEBACK
She competed in able-bodied swimming throughout her childhood but gave up the sport at age 17 when an accumulation of water in her retina left her without any sight for almost eight months. "I had water in my retina and I was completely blind. I couldn't swim because I didn't trust that I wouldn't crash into something. It was a really bad time in my life that I don't even like to talk about too much." She then decided to return to swimming 10 years later. "I went back to swimming because I needed to get some exercise. I was afraid of gaining too much weight. At 27, I felt too much time had passed without having done any kind of workout, so I decided to return. I had kept putting it off and thought I was too old for sport." (blogs.correiobraziliense.com.br, 11 Mar 2020; folhape.com.br, 01 Jul 2019; globoesporte.globo.com, 13 Dec 2014)

OPEN WATER SWIMMING
In 2013 she started open water swimming but found it challenging with her visual impairment and switched to Para swimming in 2018. "I had to follow someone in order to not miss the course buoys, because I cannot see them. An object that is 20 metres away for a normal person looks 400 metres away to me. I swam with fear of getting lost. The coolest thing was when I finished. I thought, 'Gee, I did it'. Sometimes I got lost, but then I stood in the middle of the sea waiting for an athlete to help. It's a bit scary, but there's always someone on the team that will come along." (folhape.com.br, 01 Jul 2019; globoesporte.globo.com, 13 Dec 2014)