Background
Batista dos Santos, who was born able bodied, was involved in a road accident in May 2005.
Batista dos Santos, who was born able bodied, was involved in a road accident in May 2005.
In 2012 he came second in the javelin at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. At the London Games he threw a world record for his class in the javelin. Due to the injuries sustained, part of his left leg needed to be amputated.
While in hospital he was visited by para-athletic organisations offering sport as a way to help in his recovery.
He refused to accept their invitation for over two years, before changing his mind. In 2011 he was part of the Brazilian team which entered into the 2011 Parapan American Games.
He entered the javelin and discus, both in the joint F57/58 class, winning the javelin and coming third in the discus. He followed this by being selected for the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, entering all three throwing events in the F57/58 class.
In the discus, he threw a distance of 45.90m, which did not convert to enough points to see him onto the podium, finishing instead at fourth place.
In the shot put he finished seventh. At the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France, Batista dos Santos was again on the podium. He came third in the discus, taking bronze, and second in the javelin beaten again by Mohammad Khalvandi.