The years pass by but one thing remains the same: Daniel Dias winning trophies.
Brazil’s most decorated Paralympian successfully defended the men’s World Para Swimming World Series title in 2018.
“It was a nice surprise,” said Dias. “This year’s World Series events had more people attending and many countries participating; it was great to see this development!
“It is really good to find your main rivals in each of the events as it motivates you to face the races making the same effort as at major competitions. The fight for the title was good.”
“All that made the competition tougher, more thrilling. I am extremely happy with the result.”
The scores for the overall rankings are calculated by adding up the swimmers’ two best point scores achieved in two different World Series events, with Dias scoring a total of 4,111.
He delivered his two best performances in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Sheffield, Great Britain. “I also participated in the stage held in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy. Each of them was special in their own way.
“But I think my performance in Sheffield was the best as I could lower my times in all of my events.”
In the overall standings, Dias finished just ahead of Colombia’s Carlos Serrano (4,104). Chile’s Agustin Abarza, Brazil’s Phelipe Rodrigues and Colombia’s Nelson Crispin completed the top five.
“Compared to last year, competitions were more interesting as more athletes participated. It is really good to find your main rivals in each of the events as it motivates you to face the races making the same effort as at major competitions. The fight for the title was good.”
As with most Brazilian people, Dias is a football fan. But despite his country’s current involvement in the FIFA World Cup, he will not stop training.
“I need to stay focused on the swimming. Of course I will follow the results and will be hoping Brazil can win their sixth World Cup title,” he said.
Looking ahead, Dias will take part in the Pan Pacific Para Championships in Australia this August before looking to claim his third consecutive World Series title in 2019.
“There is no recipe for winning a title or medals. But I will continue focusing on training, preparing physically, eating healthy and combining a series of factors that will help me be as well prepared as possible.
“And I will aim to win my third World Series title next year!”
The full rankings from the World Series are available on World Para Swimming’s website.
Source: paralympic.org
