Brazil women’s sitting volleyball team is gearing up for Paris 2024 with the determination to win gold. World ParaVolley had the privilege to catch up with coach Fernando Guimaraes, the head coach, to get the inside scoop on their preparations and mindset for the biggest event this season.
“We are preparing ourselves in the best way possible,” affirmed coach Guimaraes.
His recipe for success involves weeks of intense training, strategic exchanges, and facing off against top-notch opponents.
“We will engage in exchanges and participate in championships to compete against the world’s best teams,” he added.
Reflecting on the team’s journey since clinching the world title in Sarajevo in 2022, Guimaraes acknowledged the evolving nature of the sport.
“The World Cup in Egypt showed us that there were more teams prepared than ours,” he admitted, yet he remains resolute that his team’s potential knows no bounds and has room for growth before Paris.
“We are more mature and aware of our responsibility,” he noted, emphasizing that the road to gold demands commitment and effort.
“Becoming a champion is already difficult, but remaining a champion is even more challenging.”
From a bronze medal finish at Tokyo 2020 to becoming a world champion, Guimaraes stated the type of mindset the team should have to be able to win gold at Paris 2024.
“There’s no magic,” he declared. “Champions are made through hard work, overcoming countless obstacles with perseverance. There’s no point in looking to the sky with a lot of faith and only a little struggle. We have to work harder and strive further than the other teams and we have to want it more than anything in life.”
He carved his own path, following in the illustrious footsteps of his brother, Jose Roberto Guimaraes, a towering figure in Brazilian sport. While their surname echoes similarity, his journey in sitting volleyball has been uniquely crafted through his own efforts.
“I have a degree in physiotherapy, and I am a Level IV volleyball coach, the highest level in Brazil. I also had stints as a professional player in Brazil and abroad. When I stopped playing in 1998, I began working with my brother, Jose Roberto Guimaraes, the only Brazilian coach with three Olympic gold medals. I worked for the Brazilian women’s team as a physiotherapist and assistant coach,” he narrated.
“I have been involved in hippotherapy for 36 years, and in 2007, the president of CBVD invited me to…
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