Equal Fashion Magazine Vol 4-2016
Mari l ost her l ef t l eg at age 15 as a resul t of
a mot orcycl e accident , but t hat somehow
t urned her int o a more ext raordinary
person.
Her athletic debut was in track and field,
where she broke the national record in her
class at both the long jump and javelin throw
events. She gained further recognition by
being the first amputee woman to complete
long distance foot races (10 to 21km) on
crutches in Brazil. But it was in adapted
sailing that Mari went the farthest. She
competed in the Adapted Sailing World
Championships in the Netherlands between
May 24 th and 28 th , 2016, in preparation
for the Games in Rio in September.
Mari makes a point not to hide her disability
and displays a disconcerting sense of
confidence and togetherness, as she
naturally goes out and about, either wearing
prostheses or on crutches. In people?s minds,
a disabled person and a beautiful woman by
definition dot not fit together, and often fall
in boxes that are diametrically opposed.
Very often, the sight of Mari graciously
strutting around on a high heel, walking
down the catwalk, or deftly running a half
marathon on crutches stuns people as they
are forced to reconcile these two impossible
features in one person. She drives that
message home more directly on speaking
engagements, such as the recent TEDx São
Paulo in March this year.
Her message: ?Don?t l et ot her peopl e t el l
you what you can or cannot do! Bel ieve in
your dreams and go af t er t hem
whol eheart edl y, you won?t bel ieve what
amazing t hings can happen!?
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