Brazilian para athletics champion Ricardo Gomes de Mendonca spoke Thursday on his lifelong love of Japanese anime while in Kobe for the World Para Athletics Championships.
Gomes de Mendonca, 34, proudly displayed his tattoo of the iconic Dragon Ball character Goku on his chest, which he got inked in homage to series creator Akira Toriyama who died earlier this year.
"Anime was a part of my childhood," he said at the scene of his victory at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium. "(Series like) Dragon Ball have accompanied me my whole life, and I'm still a big fan today."
After winning the men's 100-meter T37 on Saturday, Gomes de Mendonca dedicated his victory to those fighting cancer, including a cousin of his as well as the Brazilian voice actor for the Portuguese-dubbed young Goku.
"These voice actors breathe life into their characters, it is a really amazing job and I really respect that," he said.
Gomes de Mendonca, who has cerebral palsy as the result of an accident when he was 24, said he got into para sports with encouragement from his peers who were training for the Rio 2016 Paralympics. He made his Paralympic debut in Tokyo in 2021.
The trick to winning a gold medal, he said, was "dedication, training and enjoying what you do. That's all."
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