Laís Souza facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Laís Souza |
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Souza in 2016
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Lais da Silva Souza | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  Brazil |
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| Born | December 13, 1988 Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil |
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| Height | 156 cm (5 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Esporte Clube Pinheiros | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Oleg Ostapenko | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Choreographer | Nadejda Ostapenko | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Laís da Silva Souza (born December 13, 1988) is a brave Brazilian athlete. She was a talented artistic gymnast. Later, she became an aerial skier. Laís represented Brazil in gymnastics from 2003 to 2008. She helped her team get to two Summer Olympic Games. In 2013, she started a new sport, freestyle skiing. She even qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Sadly, she had an accident during training just weeks before the Olympics. This accident caused her to become paralyzed.
Contents
Gymnastics Career Highlights
Early Competitions (2003–2004)
Laís Souza started her important gymnastics journey in 2003. She competed in the 2003 Pan American Games. Her Brazilian team won a bronze medal there. They finished behind the USA and Canada. In the same year, she joined the Brazilian team at the 2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Her team placed eighth overall. This helped them qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics. At her first Olympics, the Brazilian team finished ninth. Laís performed well on all four events.
Major Achievements (2005–2008)
In 2005, Laís competed in the São Paulo World Cup. She won a silver medal on the vault. She scored 15.112 points. In 2006, she competed in the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She placed fourth on vault, scoring 14.987. She also finished eighth on floor exercise. Brazil's team placed seventh overall. Because of her great performance, Laís was named the Brazilian Sportswoman of the Year in 2006.
In 2007, Laís won three medals at the 2007 Pan American Games. Her team won a silver medal, finishing second to the USA. She also won bronze medals on both vault and uneven bars. Laís helped the Brazilian team qualify for the Summer Olympics again. This happened at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, Brazil's team achieved their best result ever. They placed eighth in the team final. Laís's best individual score was on the uneven bars.
Return and Setback (2011–2012)
After a three-year break, Laís returned to gymnastics in 2011. She had been recovering from several injuries and knee surgeries. In June 2012, she was chosen for her third Olympic team. However, just weeks before the Games, she hurt her hand during a training session. This injury forced her to withdraw from the competition. Another gymnast, Ethiene Franco, took her place.
Skiing Career and Accident
A New Sport (2014)
In 2014, Laís decided to try a new sport: aerial skiing. She was going to represent Brazil at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. She had only been skiing for about six months. On January 28, 2014, she was training in Park City, Utah. She had an accident and hit a tree. This caused a severe neck injury.
The Brazilian Olympic Committee announced that she could not move her arms or legs. She was awake and could understand what people said. Laís was first treated at a hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. Because of her injury, she could not compete in the Sochi Winter Olympics. Her short time skiing did not cause the accident.
After the accident, Laís needed help to breathe. Later, the breathing tube was moved to her neck to make her more comfortable. She could not speak, but she could nod to answer questions. She was then moved to a hospital in Miami, Florida. There, she no longer needed a breathing machine. However, she still could not move or feel her arms and legs. Laís is paralyzed from the neck down. She has been learning to use an electric wheelchair.
To help her communicate with doctors, the Brazilian Olympic Committee provided her with an English teacher. She also received a special treatment with stem cells. After this treatment, she regained some feeling in parts of her feet and legs.
Notable Results
- 2003: Bronze Medal, team, 2003 Pan American Games (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic).
- 2004: 9th, team, 2004 Olympic Games (Athens, Greece).
- 2005: Silver Medal, vault, World Cup (São Paulo, Brazil).
- 2006: 4th, vault, 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (Aarhus, Denmark).
- 2007: Silver Medal, team, 2007 Panamerican Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
- 2007: Bronze Medal, vault, 2007 Panamerican Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
- 2007: Bronze Medal, uneven bars, 2007 Panamerican Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
- 2008: 8th, team, 2008 Olympic Games (Beijing, China).
