| Lira |
Here's an inspiring story :)
| quote: | Brazilian Taekwondo Fighter Gives up Mom’s Car and Gets Gold Medal
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP)
By TALES AZZONI
Monday, July 16, 2007
It wasn’t an easy choice for Brazilian taekwondo fighter Diogo Silva, buy a car for his mom or try to win a gold medal.
He chose the latter and it paid off Sunday when he beat Peru’s Peter Lopez to win taekwondo’s 68-kilogram men’s title for the host country’s first gold medal at the Pan American Games. "I bet I’ll be able to get my mom a car a lot easier now," he said Monday.
Silva made the front pages of nearly all Brazilian newspapers and said some sponsors had already begun to line up.
He had been saving money to buy the car for his mother, Telma, so she didn’t have to travel to her job as a manicurist using public transportation. Then came an opportunity to compete in Europe and he had to make a decision.
"I chose to go to Europe because I knew it would help me get good results in the future," he said. "And here I am, with the gold medal on my chest."
He said he had already saved about US$2,700 to buy the car for his mom before having to use it for the trip to Europe.
Silva makes only $321 a month from the Brazilian Taekwondo Confederation, "and that’s when they don’t delay payment." He couldn’t hold back tears at the podium Sunday as a vibrant crowd loudly sang the national anthem.
"I remembered all the times I saw other athletes in that position and how much I wanted it to be me some time," he said.
During his victory lap, with the Brazilian flag on his back, Silva yelled "It’s ours, it’s ours," to the delighted crowd.
Silva said he has to give much thanks to his mom, who kept him out of the streets in the interior city of Campinas, about 80 kilometres from Sao Paulo.
"Where I come from, we look up to those who hold guns in their hands," he said. "But when I was a child, my mom made me go to taekwondo practice."
The 25-year-old Brazilian competed at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and was a bronze medallist in the 2003 Pan Ams in the Dominican Republic. A physical education student, Silva was the first Brazilian to win a gold medal on the European circuit, in 2006.
Silva said he didn’t get much sleep after his victory Sunday because "there were so many media requests for interviews." He added he was hoping to go home soon so he could "see his mother for the first time in six months."
And maybe even bring her a new car. |
http://www.wtf.org/site/news/taekwo...m=149&mode=view
Bruva can kick, yo!


If only gangstas kicked as much ass :p |
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