Brazil's Daniel Dias won't stop at sweet 16 in medals collection

Brazil’s star Paralympic swimmer Daniel Dias tore off to a gold winning start in Rio, but don’t call him another Michael Phelps— Dias is busy writing his own name in history

Daniel Dias

Rio de Janeiro: Brazil’s star Paralympic swimmer Daniel Dias tore off to a gold winning start in Rio, but don’t call him another Michael Phelps— Dias is busy writing his own name in history. With a gold late last night in the 200 metre freestyle S5, Dias, who was born with congenital malformation of his arms and right leg, now has 16 medals and is closing in on becoming one of the most decorated Paralympians of all time.

At stunning speed, the 28-year-old delighted the raucous Brazilian home crowd by beating US swimmer Roy Perkins by 10 seconds. What’s scary for opponents is he has eight more events to go. That’s where the Phelps comparisons come in. The US swimmer—the most decorated Olympian in any sport, retired at the close of the Rio Summer Games in August with a haul of 28 medals, 23 of them gold. Dias is catching up, but says he has his own story to tell. “I’m Daniel Dias and I want to build my own legacy. But I’m happy to be compared to a great athlete,” he told AFP. It’s possible that Dias will go all the way in Rio, reaching 24 medals. That would take him past the current record holder for Paralympic male swimming medals, Australian Matthew Cowdrey.

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