He was told by doctors at the age of four that he would never run. He is visually impaired, but every day catches up to eight different buses to get to and from training. He lives in the deprived and sometimes dangerous 'favela' community of Maré in northern Rio de Janeiro. He is also a multiple world and Paralympic Games champion. Meet Felipe Gomes. He doesn't want to be a role model, but could well be one of the most inspirational athletes at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Born in Campo dos Goytacazes in the northeast of the state of Rio de Janeiro in 1986, Gomes discovered at a young age that he had glaucoma, cataracts and a dislocated retina. But he did not allow the doctor’s bleak prognosis to stop him from playing a host of sports including football, judo and capoeira.

“When I was 11, I was studying at an institute named after Louis Braille and it was there that I heard about football for blind people,” he told Rio2016.com. “As a Brazilian, I like football so I went to check it out. And that’s where my life of sport began.”

Gomes attributes his success to a highly disciplined training regime and diet (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)

Gomes, who will compete in the Rio 2016 Paralympic athletics test event at the renovated Olympic Stadium this week, is dedicated to his sport. A typical day of training and physiotherapy is intensive and includes up to eight bus journeys. “It’s difficult, but one thing I often pray and ask from God is that I never look back and think about something I could have done but didn’t do.”

As he prepares to run the 400m for the first time at the Paralympic Games, Gomes says he has always relished taking on new challenges. He first took up competitive running in 2003, when a friend invited him to take part in an event in Ribeirão Preto in São Paulo state. “A week later I went to the competition and came third in the 100 metres and won silver in the relay. Since then I haven’t stopped training,” Gomes says.

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Within two years of his competitive debut Gomes was called up to the national squad. As a sprinter in the T11 category for the visually impaired, he has participated in major events such as the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Paralympic Games and the Parapan-American Games (Rio 2007 and Guadalajara 2011).

Jason Smyth, the Usain Bolt of the Paralympic Games, out to win sixth gold at Rio 2016

Gomes celebrates with his 200m gold medal at the London 2012 Games (Photo: Getty Images/Scott Heavey)

In London, Gomes clicked into top gear and went home with a gold in the 200m and a bronze in the 100m. Since then the medals have kept on coming, culminating in a historic year in 2015 in which he won two medals at the world championships in Doha, including gold in the 200m, and three medals at the Toronto Parapan-American Games. At Rio 2016, as well as attempting to defend his 200m title, Gomes will be competing in the 100m, 400m and 4x100m relay.

Local hero

Despite his snowballing success, Gomes continues to live in the Maré complex of favelas in Rio. Although security forces moved into the district in 2014 to improve law and order, life here remains difficult. “I haven’t had any problems but it isn’t nice to leave your house and walk past an armoured police vehicle on your way to training,” Gomes says.

Gomes is keen to challenge negative perceptions about favela residents just as much as he wants to speak out about antiquated attitudes to people with an impairment. “If I appear on the television, winning a medal, telling my story…if 10 people hear me, and I reach two of them, it was worth it.

“It’s better for someone to listen to what you have to say than to go through life unnoticed. I want to reach people by setting a good example, representing Brazil, and demonstrating the potential of people who live in favela communities and people who have an impairment.”

Carnival veteran Richard Browne looking forward to party atmosphere at Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

Gomes training with his guide, Jonas Alexandre, in Rio de Janeiro (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)