Braz da Silva won the Olympic gold medal in pole vault in front of his hometown crowd in Rio de Jainero. “Wow, it was the greatest moment of my life! I don’t even know how to explain it. I have no words to describe the feeling! I can only be thankful to the Brazilian people for all the love and support,” he said, graciously.
Each day, the 22-year-old pole vaulter is motivated by his love for the sport, as well as the affection that he gets from the people and the love from his family. “There are so many things that motivate me,” he admitted.
With his vault over 6.03 meters, Braz da Silva set an Olympic record in the sport in Rio. “That was surreal,” he said with a sweet laugh. “I can’t explain it! I never imagined that I would set an Olympic Record. I can’t believe yet.”
On his future plans, he said, “I have a lot of plans, one of them is to start training right away and prepare myself for the competitions. Every athlete wants to jump higher, I believe this isn’t only my goal, but everyone’s. But, for that to happen, I need to be focused and always respecting the other competitors. Competitions are always different, each one with their difficulty level and mainly, great competitors.”
For aspiring athletes that would like to go into the sport of pole vault, he recommended that determination and perseverance are essential qualities. “Regardless of the difficulties, never give up on your dreams. What I love the most about pole vault is the flight. I feel a huge emotion when I’m in the air.”
Braz da Silva had nothing but kind remarks for Olympic bronze medalist, American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks. “Sam is a very happy guy! Everybody likes him. He’s always encouraging me in the competitions. He’s an amazing guy! I’m really happy with every accomplishment of his, and it is really good to be near to him. We cheer for each other.”
He defined the word success as “The result of a work done with a lot of love.” For his fans, Thiago Braz da Silva concluded, “Thank you for all the affection and support. May God bless each one of you! I’ll be forever grateful.”
To learn more about Olympic gold medalist Thiago Braz da Silva, follow him on Twitter.
