Torchbearer makes incredible journey from homelessness to Brazilian wrestling team
Davi Albino started training just to get free meals from his local gym and has now been selected for Rio 2016
Albino cannot wait to compete in front of a home crowd in Rio de Janeiro (Photo: Rio 2016/André Mourão)
Davi Albino is an example of the transforming power of sport, one of the values that inspired the creation of the Rio 2016 Games slogan “A new world” which was unveiled this Tuesday (14 June).
Albino used to be homeless. He earned money by guarding parked cars next to a wrestling gym in the streets of São Paulo. Just to get the free lunch offered after training sessions, Albino started to train at the gym. Encouraged by his future coach, who soon spotted Albino's potential, he took up Greco-Roman wrestling in earnest. After performing strongly in his early bouts, he then went on to win a special scholarship from the Brazilian government for high performance athletes.
Now 30 years old, Albino was a bronze medallist at the Toronto 2015 Pan-American Games and will be part of the Brazilian team competing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Five times national champion, he is the first Brazilian male athlete to have featured in the top 20 ranking of United World Wrestling, the sport’s international federation. An Olympic medal in Rio would complete this story of transformation.
“Sport changed my life, for me it is the biggest example of social inclusion in the world. You don’t need to spend a lot to get into sport”
Davi Albino, wrestler who left the streets with the help of sport
On Tuesday, Albino carried the Olympic torch in the city of Imperatriz as the Torch Relay journeyed through the northeastern state of Maranhão.
Rise of a wrestler
As well as being excited to represent Brazil in his chosen sport, Albino wants to serve as an example for future generations. “I hope that, after seeing me carry the torch, many others will follow my example,” he said in Imperatriz on Tuesday.
“It will be amazing to compete at the Games. It’s one thing to compete where no one knows you. It’s another to have the fans shouting your name and cheering you on. It will be the first time my mother will see me competing. Can you believe it?”
The wrestler's dream is to win a medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Photo: Rio2016/Stefano Santoni)