Adhemar Ferreira da Silva had this initiation in the triple jump when he was 20 years old and, in his first jump, he did 12.90 meters, an amazing mark for a novice. Adhemar was from a poor family and worked during the day and studied at night. Time for training, just in the lunch hour. In the spite of all this sacrifice, he soon overcame the 15 meters mark, what qualified him for London 1948 Olympic Games where he placed in the 14th position with the mark of 14.46 meters.

Four years later, in Helsinki-1952 Olympics, Adhemar was the world record holder (16.01 meters), and the favorite for the gold medal. He didn't desapointed the high expectation and not only won the gold medal, but also broke the world record 4 times and raised the mark to 16.22 meters. 

As a gift for this achievement, the newspaper "A Gazeta Esportiva" offered him a house. Adhemar refused the gift. He couldn't accept or he would be considered professional and could never take part in any other edition of the Olympics. A year after Helsinki Olympics, Adhemar broke the world record once again with the 16.56 meters jump. 

In Melbourne-1956 Olympics, he became the only Brazilian to win two Olympic gold medal after a trilling dispute with Icelander Vilhajálmur Einarsson where Adhemar prevailed with the mark of 16.36 meters. He tried an even greater achievement four years later in Rome Olympic Games: the 3rd gold medal. However his performance was disappointed. Adhemar had tuberculosis, but he didn't know it.

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