Brazilian canoeist Isaquias Queiroz dos Santos cheated death three times by the age of 10. Now, the 22-year-old is a two-time Olympic medallist and Brazil's first ever medallist in canoeing.

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When he was three, Queiroz was scalded by boiling water. At age five he was kidnapped. Aged ten. he fell from a tree onto a rock, splitting his kidney nearly in half. This injury resulted in the removal of his kidney and gave him the nickname he's known by in Brazil, 'Sem Rim' or 'Missing Kidney'.

Queiroz's success may have been written in the stars: he was born in the small town of Ubaitaba, which in the indigenous Tupi-Guarani language means 'city of canoes.'

Queiroz capsized after the end of his race on Thursday but it didn't dampen his spirits (Photo: Getty Images/Phil Walter)

Silver on Tuesday

Queiroz took the silver in his first event, the men's 1000m canoe single, on Tuesday (16 August). He finished less than two seconds behind gold medalist Sebastian Brendel of Germany with a time of 3:58.52.

"I'm proud to have raced against the gold medal," he said. "It's my first Olympics and I am pleased with my result. I'm happy to have won silver.  It tastes a bit like gold because I'm at home and I have trained very hard."

Queiroz became an instant paddling legend in Brazil with his medal.

"I've actually already felt a bit of that of being an idol in Brazil," he said on Thursday. "I was walking on the street yesterday trying to get to the gym and people would stop me to take pictures of me, so my coach had to drag me so I could move.

Queiroz is only the fifth athlete from Brazil to claim multiple medals in a single edition of the Olympic Games and the first since swimmer Cesar Cielo in 2008.

Queiroz paddled his way into Brazilian sporting history on Thursday (18 August) (Photo: Getty Images/Phil Walter)

Bronze on Thursday

On Thursday, Queiroz competed in his second event, the men's single canoe single 200m, and picked up bronze.

Queiroz was trailing for most of the race before he made a last minute surge to claim third place, just two hundredths of a second ahead of fourth-place finisher Alfonso Benavidez Lopez de Ayala of Spain, with a time of 39.628 seconds. Taking the gold was Yuriy Cheban of Ukraine with a time of 39.279.

After the race, Queiroz said: "I didn't do too well when I first started, as this was a 200m and I actually specialise in 1000m. Then I started to pick up pace to a very strong pace. I had to use a lot of strength, and I felt tired, but I knew the other people would be more tired so I sprinted and won the medal in the last centimetres."

Cheban, who took gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games, was the last man into the final, squeezing in with the last qualifying spot after finishing third in his semi-final on Wednesday. His launch for the finish catapulted him into the water, but did not dampen his joy at the title.

Gold this weekend?

Queiroz has a final chance for victory in the men's double 1000m canoe sprint, with the heats beginning on Friday and the final taking place on Saturday.  Queiroz will be racing with partner Erlon de Souza Silva. The Brazilians are world champions in this event and it could be their best chance at a home gold medal.

Queiroz has one more chance for gold on Friday (Photo: Getty Images/Mike Ehrmann)

"I hope that we win the gold medal," Queiroz said on Thursday. "I think we have a chance because we're very strong. I hope that Erlon also has a chance of winning a medal in the Olympics, he has a very underprivileged past so he really deserves it for the work that he's put in."

Canoe sprint schedule and results from Rio 2016

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