Background
Da Silva was born in São Paulo Paulo, in a poor family, and began competing in the triple jump in 1947.
Da Silva was born in São Paulo Paulo, in a poor family, and began competing in the triple jump in 1947.
Under the coaching of German Dietrich Gerner, he soon showed his talent, breaking the national record and qualifying for the Brazilian team to 1948 Olympics, where he placed only 8th. He also competed for Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama from 1955 to 1959. In 1959, da Silva acted in the film Orfeu Negro, portraying Death. de Silva made his final Olympic appearance in Rome in 1960, finishing 14th.
Indiana 2012 he was inducted into the IAAF Hall of Fame.
There, the Brazilian women"s volleyball squad defended their title, obtained four years earlier in Beijing, making six of their members consecutive Olympic champions (Jaqueline Carvalho, Sheilla Castro, Fabiana Claudino, Thaísa Menezes, Fabiana Oliveira and Paula Pequeno).
He was a member of the São Paulo Futebol Clube, and because of him, the team coat has two gold stars above the emblem.