For those who breathe Jiu-Jitsu, the motto of the famous brand of clothing (“Impossible is nothing”) isn’t just a good slogan, but a motto for life.
That’s what world champion (for team Alliance) Daniela Figueiredo Paiva proved, when she swapped her gi for a bicycle some years ago and became a character in a movie.
The winner of the 2009 installment of Race Across America, considered the greatest endurance test in cycling, Dani had her saga told in a film by Laura Grant, the editor for full-length film “Elite Force”.
At the documentary launch party “RAAM: a Challenge in Strength and Resistance”, yesterday, in Rio de Janeiro, the four film sessions were packed, with people sitting on the ground in the later sessions.
“What was most impressive were the conditions she endured to win,” says husband Alexandre Paiva. “She pedaled for 11 days and 17 hours (20 hrs per day) across the USA, enduring temperatures varying from 0 to 40 degrees Centigrade. She faced the Appalachian Mountains and everything. They tallied up the whole climb and it came to six Everests. That’s why our master and conditioning coach Orlando Cani was so important during rest time,” he pointed out.
And Gigi Paiva wasn’t the only proud champion. Gustavo Dantas, our GMA in Arizona, also celebrated the end of the year with brother Marcos in the Rio de Janeiro Ultramarathon.
“He’s nuts! The guy ran for 24 hours and won his division,” said Gustavo. “He started Jiu-Jitsu before me, when I was 14, and he was 18. But he stopped training Jiu-Jitsu because of world, and got into the triathlon 19 years ago.”
Running alongside 160 crazies, Marcos even passed out in the last ten minutes of the race, but convinced the doctor to run with him until the finishing line, winning the 35 to 39 year old division. Gustavo’s brother’s feat became news on the “O Globo” newspaper website.
See that, Adidas?
