25 Years of Laureus: The moments that made an Olympian
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An accidental introduction to a Laureus-supported boxing programme. A coach that wouldn’t let him quit. The big fights that levelled him up. Wanderson de Oliveira’s story goes the distance.
There’s a field in Complexo de Maré, one of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, called Igrejinha. It means ‘little church’. There, in 2009, a group of kids were playing football, as groups of kids were in favelas all across Rio that day. But these kids were getting thirsty, so one of them, 12-year-old Wanderson de Oliveira, decided to go into a nearby sports club to get some water.
Luta pela Paz is one of over 300 community-focused programmes around the world supported by Laureus Sport for Good and it was through its doors that Wanderson burst that day.
Luta pela Paz uses boxing and martial arts alongside education and mentorship to provide better pathways for young people in a community affected by drug addiction and gang violence. Inside, Wanderson saw a friend of his hitting a heavy bag. ‘I could do that,’ he thought.
This was the start of a journey that would take Wanderson all over the world – including to the 2020 Olympic Games – and give him opportunities that the thirsty boy in search of water would not have believed.
“That moment changed my life,” he says.
Luta pela Paz is one of over 300 community-focused programmes around the world supported by Laureus Sport for Good and it was through its doors that Wanderson burst that day.
Luta pela Paz uses boxing and martial arts alongside education and mentorship to provide better pathways for young people in a community affected by drug addiction and gang violence. Inside, Wanderson saw a friend of his hitting a heavy bag. ‘I could do that,’ he thought.
This was the start of a journey that would take Wanderson all over the world – including to the 2020 Olympic Games – and give him opportunities that the thirsty boy in search of water would not have believed.
“That moment changed my life,” he says.
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Before his 13th birthday, and after staff from Luta pela Paz had visited his mother to assure her that Wanderson’s welfare was the priority of the programme, he had his first fight.
“This kid was a student of Kelson Pinto – Kelson had fought against Miguel Cotto [Cotto, the multi-weight world champion, defeated Kelson for the WBO light welterweight title]. I went in, I fought hard and I won. And after that, I wanted more.”
A coach at the programme, Gibi, had already assessed Wanderson as a young athlete of potential. Soon, he took the apprentice boxer to compete in a tournament in São Paulo.
“I had never left the favela before. Everyone was talking about it – he’s going to São Paulo!”
By the time Wanderson and Gibi were back at the bus station, waiting for their ride home, a gold medal was around the boy’s neck.
“Aren’t you going to take that medal off?” asked the coach.
“No. I’m the champion.”
“This kid was a student of Kelson Pinto – Kelson had fought against Miguel Cotto [Cotto, the multi-weight world champion, defeated Kelson for the WBO light welterweight title]. I went in, I fought hard and I won. And after that, I wanted more.”
A coach at the programme, Gibi, had already assessed Wanderson as a young athlete of potential. Soon, he took the apprentice boxer to compete in a tournament in São Paulo.
“I had never left the favela before. Everyone was talking about it – he’s going to São Paulo!”
By the time Wanderson and Gibi were back at the bus station, waiting for their ride home, a gold medal was around the boy’s neck.
“Aren’t you going to take that medal off?” asked the coach.
“No. I’m the champion.”
As Wanderson’s medal collection grew, he was learning far more than just punch combinations and head movement. Like every programme across the Laureus Sport for Good network, Luta pela Paz uses sport as an engine to drive change in the community.
Wanderson remembers: “Gibi would say, ‘Look, you’re a fighter, but you’ve got to show you’re a person too. You can’t just be wild, thinking you’re all about fighting and nothing else. You need discipline, respect, communication’. It all goes together, you know?”
Yet as Wanderson grew up in Complexo de Maré, there were times when he wanted to turn his back on a sport that requires total commitment.
“There were many times when I wanted to quit, and Gibi wouldn’t let me,” he says. “He would come to my house and bother me: it’s truly surreal.
“When I gave myself to Luta pela Paz, over time I matured a lot. I built a really tough shell, and it changed my outlook on life a lot. I started focussing more on the goals I needed to focus on, which were school and work. I came from a very humble family – I had to work on the side to help at home. Over time, I understood that I had to make that effort: nothing would come for free.
“Sport gives more focus to life, to school. The young person who is much more rebellious, troublesome, the ones who fight, they are the ones who can stand out the most in sports and have a greater education from a bond with sports. That troublesome child, from the moment they join a sport, they instantly change: the child is no longer a child, they start thinking like an adult.”
Wanderson remembers: “Gibi would say, ‘Look, you’re a fighter, but you’ve got to show you’re a person too. You can’t just be wild, thinking you’re all about fighting and nothing else. You need discipline, respect, communication’. It all goes together, you know?”
Yet as Wanderson grew up in Complexo de Maré, there were times when he wanted to turn his back on a sport that requires total commitment.
“There were many times when I wanted to quit, and Gibi wouldn’t let me,” he says. “He would come to my house and bother me: it’s truly surreal.
“When I gave myself to Luta pela Paz, over time I matured a lot. I built a really tough shell, and it changed my outlook on life a lot. I started focussing more on the goals I needed to focus on, which were school and work. I came from a very humble family – I had to work on the side to help at home. Over time, I understood that I had to make that effort: nothing would come for free.
“Sport gives more focus to life, to school. The young person who is much more rebellious, troublesome, the ones who fight, they are the ones who can stand out the most in sports and have a greater education from a bond with sports. That troublesome child, from the moment they join a sport, they instantly change: the child is no longer a child, they start thinking like an adult.”
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As Wanderson reached adulthood, boxing gave him new opportunities.
He won gold at lightweight at the 2018 South American Games, then at the delayed 2020 Olympics he reached the quarter-finals, losing to Andy Cruz of Cuba, the eventual champion. In 2022 he was again South American champion, this time at light middleweight. A year later he won bronze at the same weight at the world championships.
Now approaching a move into the professional ranks, and still coached by Gibi, the man who first saw his potential after he crashed through the doors of Luta pela Paz, Wanderson can reflect on the role sport – and Laureus Sport for Good – has played in his story.
“I’ve lost a lot of friends to criminal life, some are in prison and some are dead,” he says. “Thank God I managed to stick with sport – sport opened up many doors for me.”
Sean Fitzpatrick visited Luta pela Paz in 2013 and the chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy believes that Wanderson’s story provides an example of what is possible when young people from challenging environments find sport and connect with coaches who can become influences on their lives.
“Wanderson embodies the work we've been striving toward over the last 25 years with Laureus Sport for Good,” says Sean. “His story shows us how positive role models and safe spaces can create new pathways to success for young people. That young kid that came in looking for a drink of water made it all the way to the Olympics – and that is only possible with a coach and a role model like Gibi.”
“Nelson Mandela said in 2000 that sport has the power to change the world and it’s true,” adds Wanderson. “There’s nothing more to add, because that’s what happened to me: sport changed my life.”
He won gold at lightweight at the 2018 South American Games, then at the delayed 2020 Olympics he reached the quarter-finals, losing to Andy Cruz of Cuba, the eventual champion. In 2022 he was again South American champion, this time at light middleweight. A year later he won bronze at the same weight at the world championships.
Now approaching a move into the professional ranks, and still coached by Gibi, the man who first saw his potential after he crashed through the doors of Luta pela Paz, Wanderson can reflect on the role sport – and Laureus Sport for Good – has played in his story.
“I’ve lost a lot of friends to criminal life, some are in prison and some are dead,” he says. “Thank God I managed to stick with sport – sport opened up many doors for me.”
Sean Fitzpatrick visited Luta pela Paz in 2013 and the chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy believes that Wanderson’s story provides an example of what is possible when young people from challenging environments find sport and connect with coaches who can become influences on their lives.
“Wanderson embodies the work we've been striving toward over the last 25 years with Laureus Sport for Good,” says Sean. “His story shows us how positive role models and safe spaces can create new pathways to success for young people. That young kid that came in looking for a drink of water made it all the way to the Olympics – and that is only possible with a coach and a role model like Gibi.”
“Nelson Mandela said in 2000 that sport has the power to change the world and it’s true,” adds Wanderson. “There’s nothing more to add, because that’s what happened to me: sport changed my life.”
