Paris 2024: D’Andrea takes training to next level in quest for second Paralympic gold

At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Mariana D’Andrea surprised everyone by winning Brazil’s first ever powerlifting gold medal – everyone, that is, except Mariana D’Andrea.

She won the women's -73kg division with a lift of 137kg, and celebrated with her coach at the Tokyo International Forum.

“For me and my coach, it wasn’t a surprise, because we trained all the time in search of that gold,” said the Sao Paulo state native. “And it happened the way we predicted all along, since the 2016 Games.”

A last-minute inclusion in the team for the Paralympics in her home country, D’Andrea was just 18 when she competed in Rio. “I wasn’t psychologically prepared for such a huge event,” she admitted. “For this reason, I invalidated my three attempts.”

Ultimately, though, this failure – and a similar experience at the 2017 World Championships in Mexico City, where she also failed to register a single successful lift – proved vital to her future success. 

“Even though I didn't perform well in Rio, I was able to live and feel the emotion of what it was like to participate in a Games, so I thought, if participating in a Games is something wonderful, imagine winning a medal.

“So, starting from that thought, I imagined in Tokyo I want a medal, whatever the cost. I promised myself that in the next Games I would give my all to win a medal."

Think like a champion

Now, as a champion rather than an underdog, D’Andrea has a target on her back going into the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

“To be a champion, you have to think like a champion, train like a champion and have the attitude of a champion,” the two-time Paralympian said. “That’s how I think, and that’s how I’m going to do it.”

This year, D’Andrea increased her training intensity so she can arrive in the French capital at the peak of her performance.

“This sport, like the vast majority, you have to love, so you will never be unmotivated when training,” she explained. “I’ve been training since January. I’m doing eight specific workouts per week, where on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I train twice a day for about three hours each workout.

“To compete in the Games, the biggest multi-sport event on the planet, you first have to understand the magnitude and importance of being very well prepared physically and mentally. In weightlifting, physical and mental strength must work together all the time. If one of these two items is disconnected, your performance will be harmed.

“And the Games are an event unlike any other – if you are not 100 per cent prepared for this moment, you run the risk of feeling the pressure and not performing well.”

‘Sport of my life’

D’Andrea, who is 1.3 metres tall, says her journey in Para powerlifting began completely by chance.

“In 2015 I was with my mother at the gym door, talking to my uncle, where he worked. Ironically, this gym has a Para powerlifting training area, and at that moment, coach Valdecir Lopes entered the gym. He saw me and quickly came to talk to me. At the time, I didn't want to talk and I was even scared, but he still decided to talk to my mother about the project. 

“He ended up convincing me to learn about the sport. I confess that even after learning about it, I wasn't very interested, but with the insistence of my coach and my family, I continued training, until I competed for the first time. After this competition I realised that this really was the sport of my life. Since then, I never thought about stopping.”

From Tokyo to Paris

Having competed in the 61-kg category in Rio and winning gold at the Parapan American Games in Peru, Lima in 2019 in the 61/67kg category, D’Andrea had moved up to the 73kg division by the time the Tokyo Paralympics took place in 2021.

But not even a Covid-enforced delay to the Tokyo Paralympics could disrupt D’Andrea’s focus.

“I never stopped training or stopped believing that the Games would happen,” she said. “My coach and I knew it would be a very even competition, but we were confident of winning.”

After failing to register a valid lift in Rio, D’Andrea’s tactics in Tokyo were clear. “My coach and I studied our main opponent [Xu Lili] over the years, and our big strategy was not to invalidate any lifts – I needed to validate all three. If this was done, we would have a great chance of getting gold.”

And she did just that. After D’Andrea lifted 130kgs with her first attempt, Xu failed at 133, which the Brazilian then lifted successfully. Xu’s attempt at 134 was good but D’Andrea came back with 137. Xu would have to lift 138 to claim gold but she couldn’t manage it, sparking tears of joy among D’Andrea and her team.

“At that moment it was the feeling of a dream come true,” she said. “I trained for five years for that moment, and we went through many challenges due to Covid-19, then I thought ‘WE DID IT!’”

With the next Games opening in less than 120 days, D’Andrea is gunning to repeat her success at Paris 2024, which will feature spectators for the first time since the pandemic.

“When I'm competing, I only focus on my competition. With public or without public, my thinking is, ‘I’m going to lift this weight at any cost, it’s the weight I do in my training’. I am very excited and confident.”

Book your tickets for the Paralympic Games by visiting the Paris 2024 ticketing website.