Life denies you attributes that others have plenty of, however, this should not be an excuse to fight for the goals you set for yourself in life.
Geraldo Castro is a taekwondo athlete of the highest level who, despite being deaf and dumb and missing one of his limbs, has been achieving unsuspected goals and objectives, and still fights for others.
Castro is the second of three brothers who from a very young age had to learn “to do everything” at home, because his mother had to go out to work to supplement the resources that came to the home.
His disability is defined as upper body and deaf-mute. He is missing his forearm and right hand.
However, these disabilities do not prevent Castro, who defines himself as a full-fledged athlete, from “doing everything” in his daily life.
“I can wash, cook, clean, manage technological equipment (telephones, computers, etc.),” says Castro, who daily performs conventional taekwondo training routines, along with other young people who have all their faculties. Next to her is Claudia Pérez, a specialist taekwondo technician, who assists her, not only as a coach, but also accompanies her to her sports commitments. She can interpret what he says by signs and when not, she uses a telephone that Castro uses to communicate what he wants to say.
Coming from winning a silver medal at the sixth ParaPan American Games that took place in Lima, Peru, he has dreams in the sport.
He has been practicing taekwondo since he was four years old, on his own initiative, training under the tutelage of former athlete Víctor Bauteme.
This year he will be 23 years old (December 29), he is a bachelor from the Santa Rita school in San Isidro.
Castro does not look at his disabilities, “he behaves like a normal person,” says his mother Olinda Encarnación, who comments that she has never forbidden him from anything he wants to do. “His success is that he has always had the freedom to do what he wants, making him see that he is a person capable of doing things,” says his mother.
He is fascinated by video games, as entertainment, his mother continues. “He is self-sufficient, he doesn’t need anything done to him.”
Castro says that he loves to cook and remembers when his mother had to go to work and stayed at home with his little brother Erick, who is now eleven years old. She took care of him, cleaned the house, cooked. “My mother left calmly because I did what she had to do,” says the taekwondo athlete.
Claudia defines him as a sociable young man, who has many friends.
She has accompanied him to numerous events, the last one was to an event held in Brazil, a G-4 ParaPan American championship, where she won a silver medal and 32 points, she is number 15 in the world ranking.
His dream is to be at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Castro is focused on achieving that dream and said he has the support of the Ministry of Sports, in the person of Francisco Camacho, and the Paralympic Committee led by Eladio Agramonte.
Castro trains with conventional athletes. Currently he has the rank of 2nd dan international kukki won.
KNOW MORE Brushstrokes of the life of Castro Rutina
He gets up at 6:00 in the morning for physical training, at 11:00 training, at 5:00 in the afternoon, tactical training.
Family
His mother’s name is Olinda Encarnación; her father, Eduardo Castro; and her brothers are Erick and Mariel Carolin Castro.
Keyword.
Since 2019, the Paraathlete has been assisted by the taekwondo technician Claudia Pérez, who has had to work on adapting her techniques to the requirements of international organizations.
