A throw on one arm and one wheel. Many opponents around him. The energy of the Wheelchair Basketball on a picture. To Ana Paula Petronilho, from Joinville, Santa Catarina state, “Overcoming” is the word that defines the winning photo of “My Paralympic picture” cultural contest. But it could also be called “Inspiration”.

At the age of 18, Ana Paula started her career as a professional photographer. She was invited by the Wheelchair Basketball team coach, who has been her Physical Education teacher at school, to photograph the effort and the beauty of an extremely touching sport of the Paralympic Games.

On the photo, Raposas do Sul, in white, from the city of Joinville, competes with APEDEB, in red, from the city of Brusque, in the Santa Catarina State Championship classifying. The man throwing into de basket is Pablo, who dribbles the point guard and goes up for a layup.

“Our team is tem years old. It is composed by players who work during the day and gather some days in the week, in the night, to train. They have no support and help each other,” tells the photographer, to whom Athletics is a family hobbie. “My parents have already taken part in marathons. I run marathons when I can. The sport is always present on our lives”.

About the photo

The photo expresses an extraordinary capacity of overcoming the obstacles between mind and body.

Ana Paula Petronilho