Vinícius Gonçalves Rodrigues

Vinícius Gonçalves Rodrigues (born 28 November 1994) is a Brazilian Paralympic athlete. He won the silver medal in the men's 100 metres T63 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan. He also set a new T63 Paralympic record of 12.05 seconds.

Biography
Vinícius' life changed completely when he was 19 years old. In 2013, he suffered a motorcycle accident in Maringá, where he lived. His motorcycle was hit by a car and he was thrown, colliding with a road sign.

After the accident, Vinícius had his left leg amputated. And it was in this circumstance that optimism, one of his main qualities, came to the surface. Upon receiving a visit from Paralympic champion Terezinha Guilhermina, Vinícius found a new dream: becoming a professional athlete.

Career
Willpower made Vinicius go to the race track about six months after the accident. And, over the last decade, he has transformed himself into a high-performance athlete, with incredible achievements. In 2015, he participated in a paralympic competition for the first time, two years after his leg was amputated.

In 2019, during the Open Loterias Caixa paralympic athletics event, he became the world record holder in the 100 metre dash in the T63 class, in the leg amputees category, completing the race in 11 seconds and 95 thousandths, earning with this result the right to represent Brazil in the 2019 Parapan American Games, in Lima, Peru, and the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In the same year, he won the bronze medal in the men's 100 metre T63 at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships.

In 2021, Vinicius competed in his first Paralympics Games, in Tokyo, Japan. And, right on his debut, the sprinter became a silver medalist in men's 100 metre T63 event, losing the race by just one thousandth.

After silver, focus on a new Paralympic cycle. On the way, a new silver medal, this time at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in the men's 100 metre T63, in Paris, France.

Personal life
Vinícius is the father of Ana Luiza, aged 7, and says he has never dated.

In January 2024, it was announced he is a contestant in the reality show Big Brother Brasil 24, giving up the fight to compete in the 2024 Summer Paralympics. He was the 5th evicted with 9.92% of the votes to save in a eviction against salesman Lucas Luigi, social worker Giovanna Pitel, flight atendant Marcus Vinicius Ferreira and ballet dancer & model Alane Dias, finishing in twenty-first place.