Gabriel Araújo (swimmer)
Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araújo, also known by his nickname Gabrielzinho, is a Brazilian Paralympic swimmer.
Career
Araújo has phocomelia, which resulted in him having atrophied legs and no arms. He swims by undulating like a dolphin, and has earned the nickname "rocketman" for his speed. He began competing at 13 years old, and entered into the 2020 Summer Paralympics at 19, where he won two gold medals and one silver medal. In the 2024 Summer Paralympics he broke the world record for SM2 classification twice in one day and went on to win three gold medals that year.At the 2024 Para Swimming World Series, Araújo earned 4,229 points, winning the overall men's title. At the 2025 Para Swimming World Series, Araújo won gold in the men's 100m freestyle, the 150m individual medley, the 50m butterfly, and the 50m backstroke events. He also won silver in the men's 200m freestyle and the men's 50m freestyle events.
At the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore, Araújo won the gold medal in the men's 100 m backstroke S2 with a championship-record time of 1:54.58, marking his first world-title gold in that event. He also broke his own SM2 world record in the 150 m individual medley SM3 final earlier at the same championships.