Pollyana: “It is the question I often get: does swimming run in the family? But no, we discovered by chance that both our sons are such good swimmers. That was a gift!”
Tiago: “I already had swimming lessons as a two-year-old child, but my passion for swimming as a sport arose when I started training with a friend at a serious swimming club. I was eight years old then.”
Pollyana: “Another swimming club had initially refused him. Six months later, Tiago won five medals at a tournament. That swimming club in question won two in total. They did regret it.”
Tiago: „My specialization now is the freestyle on the middle distance and butterfly on the short tracks. What is my strength? I think I’m very disciplined.”
Reinaldo: “Sometimes almost a little too much. We regularly have to remind Tiago that he is also a teenager and can relax every now and then. We have to pay much more attention to our other son Davi, who also swims at a high level.”
Pollyana: “We always try to support them. We look into everything in terms of nutrition, healthy living – but we are not pushy parents.”
Reinaldo: “No not at all. What matters is that they enjoy it. If the boys say tomorrow: we don’t like swimming anymore – fine! Then they go to football, right?”
Moving was a dream
Pollyana: “We moved to the Netherlands in December 2019. That has always been a dream of ours.”
Reinaldo: “Rio de Janeiro is a beautiful place, but not that safe. We always had to take the children to school by car and my wife spent as little time as possible on the streets alone. We have always looked for an opportunity to leave: to the US or Europe. A friend of mine already worked at a Dutch company and told me that they were looking for software engineers. We didn’t have to think twice about that.”
Tiago: “I was twelve when my parents told me we were moving. It was difficult at first; it was so different here. The language, the food. They have lunch here with cheese sandwiches. That’s not lunch for us! Haha. But it was also a fun new challenge. I immediately liked the freedom. I remember the day I woke up and realized: I will soon be able to cycle to school, to the swimming pool, wherever I want to go! That’s a really nice feeling.”
Pollyana: “The fact that we eventually ended up in Eindhoven, the swimming capital of the Netherlands, was a coincidence. But it is very nice that Tiago can train with all the national top swimmers and that it is just around the corner. In any case, everything here is very quiet and safe.”
Reinaldo: “It is really our intention to stay here and build a life. If we have worked here for five years next year and pass a language test, we will receive a Dutch passport. No, that is no longer exciting – the boys speak Dutch fluently, and with some studying we can do it too.”
Pasta, risotto, lasagna
Tiago: “On a weekday I get up at a quarter to five. Then I have breakfast and leave for the swimming pool, where the training starts at six o’clock. Then I go to school and hang out there in the afternoon to eat something or do homework, before going back to the pool for the second training. Once home I have dinner and prepare my food for the next day. I’ll go straight to bed at nine o’clock.”
Pollyana: “Well…”
Tiago: “Okay, sometimes I procrastinate a bit.”
Pollyana: “A lot of food goes through here. Look at the plates those guys are serving up! And a moment later – woosh – it’s all gone. I make pasta, risotto, lasagna, rice with beans and a protein component. Tiago and Davi bring protein shakes for after training. I have now infected Reinaldo with the cooking virus. Now we split the cooking fifty-fifty.”
Tiago: “The most challenging thing in a top sports family is logistics. Last weekend Tiago had a tournament in Eindhoven and Davi in Nijmegen. Then we have to split ourselves up and get everyone to location on time. And sometimes you have four weekends like that in a row.”
Pollyana: “I carefully keep a joint agenda with all appointments in it. In any case, we all try to have breakfast together every Sunday American pancakes.”
Reinaldo: “Another problem is that Tiago does not have Dutch nationality and is therefore officially not allowed to participate in national and European competitions.”
Tiago: „Fortunately I have a coach, Geert, who is very committed to me. For example, he has arranged for me to participate part-time at the Swim Academy: the program for national top talents. I think that’s so cool! I really want to swim under the Dutch flag.”
Pollyana: “Sometimes this leads to disappointments. For example, Tiago would participate in the junior European Championships. He had received nice TeamNL clothing and had gone to Papendal for a team photo. But two days before it turned out that it was not allowed and it was canceled.”
Reinaldo: “He has also broken many records at national competitions, which do not officially count.”
Pollyana: “It’s part of the process, we say. If Tiago has his passport, those records will be counted retroactively – and he has already shown he can do it.”
Tiago: “The Olympic Games in Paris next year are still a bit too early. I am focusing on the Los Angeles Games in 2028. That is my big dream.”