Diego Hypólito

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Diego Hypólito
Hypólito in 2016
Personal information
Full nameDiego Matias Hypólito
Born (1986-06-19) 19 June 1986
Santo André, Brazil
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Gymnastics career
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
Country
represented
Brazil Brazil
ClubCR Flamengo
Head coach
Renato Araújo
Retired2019[1]
Medal record
Representing  Brazil
Men's artistic gymnastics
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 1 0
World Championships 2 1 2
World Cup Final 3 0 1
Pan American Games 5 3 0
Pan American Championships 1 2 1
Total 11 7 4
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2016 Rio de JaneiroFloor exercise
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2005 MelbourneFloor exercise
Gold medal – first place2007 StuttgartFloor exercise
Silver medal – second place2006 AarhusFloor exercise
Bronze medal – third place2011 TokyoFloor exercise
Bronze medal – third place2014 NanningFloor exercise
World Cup Final
Gold medal – first place2004 BirminghamFloor exercise
Gold medal – first place2006 São PauloFloor exercise
Gold medal – first place2008 MadridFloor exercise
Bronze medal – third place2006 São PauloVault
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place2007 Rio de JaneiroVault
Gold medal – first place2007 Rio de JaneiroFloor exercise
Gold medal – first place2011 GuadalajaraTeam
Gold medal – first place2011 GuadalajaraFloor exercise
Gold medal – first place2011 GuadalajaraVault
Silver medal – second place2003 Santo DomingoTeam
Silver medal – second place2003 Santo DomingoVault
Silver medal – second place2007 Rio de JaneiroTeam
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place2013 San JuanFloor exercise
Silver medal – second place2013 San JuanVault
Silver medal – second place2014 MississaugaFloor exercise
Bronze medal – third place2014 MississaugaTeam
South American Games
Gold medal – first place2010 MedellínTeam
Gold medal – first place2010 MedellínFloor exercise
Gold medal – first place2010 MedellínVault
South American Championships
Gold medal – first place2011 SantiagoTeam
Silver medal – second place2011 SantiagoFloor exercise
Silver medal – second place2011 SantiagoVault

Diego Matias Hypólito (Brazilian Portuguese: [dʒiˈeɡu iˈpɔlitu]; born 19 June 1986) is a Brazilian gymnast, the 2005 and 2007 World Champion in the floor exercise. He is the first male gymnast from Brazil, and South America, to win a medal at the World Championships.[2] He also won 63 medals in the World Cup.[3] Hypólito has represented Brazil at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympic Games.[4] He received the silver medal in floor exercise at the 2016 Olympic Games.[5][6]

He is the brother of Daniele Hypólito, the first Brazilian gymnast to win a medal at the World Championships.[7]

Early life

Hypólito was born in Santo André, São Paulo, but moved to the city of Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of a bus driver, Wagner Hypólito, and a seamstress, Geni Matias.[8] He has Greek ancestry through his father (the surname Hypólito comes from the Greek surname Hippolyte, which was translated when his ancestors had immigrated to Brazil); he is also of Portuguese descent, through his mother.[9][10][11]

As a child, he had his first contact with the sport at the Flamengo Rowing Club, the same one his sister, Daniele, used to train. At her insistence, he specialized in solo exercises, in which he won his first titles as infantil and later as júnior.[12]

Career

Hypólito began gymnastics at age seven, following in his older sister's footsteps. He won the floor exercise event in the children's division at 1997's Brazilian National Championships and was 2001's all-around junior national champion.[13]

By the age of 21, Hypólito had competed at the 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and the 2007 World Championships. A floor exercise specialist, he qualified for the FX event finals in all five competitions, placing fifth in 2002, fourth in 2003, earning a gold medal in 2005, a silver medal in 2006, and a gold again in 2007. With his 2005 win, Hypólito became the first male South American gymnast to medal at the World Championships.

In the spring of 2008, Hypólito contracted dengue fever.[11] However, he was able to recover and resume training in time to compete at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where he was Brazil's only MAG representative. In the preliminary round of competition, he performed on floor and vault, and qualified to the floor event final in first place with a score of 15.950.[14] In the floor finals, he fell on his last tumbling pass to finish the meet in sixth place.[15]

Hypólito was one of three male Brazilians in artistic gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but he was eliminated during the qualification stage. However, in the 2016 Summer Olympics, held in his home country, he finished fourth in qualification for the floor exercise, and won a silver medal in the individual event final.

Eponymous skills

Hypólito has one skill on floor exercise officially named after him called the Hypólito on floor, which was successfully completed when he won the gold medal on the individual floor event at the 2006 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Final in São Paulo, Brazil, defeating the then reigning Olympic floor champion, Kyle Shewfelt of Canada, in the process. The skill is a full-twisting Arabian double (front) layout and was assigned a D-score of F (0.6).

Personal life

Hypólito was in a relationship with lawyer Marcus Duarte between 2018 and 2020.[16]

Hypólito came out as gay in May 2019. In an article for UOL Esporte, Hypólito described many years of struggling with his sexuality because of his deeply religious upbringing, but wrote, "I want people to know that I'm gay and that I'm not ashamed of it."[17]

In December 2019, he claimed to have been a Christian since childhood and to attend Bola de Neve Church every week.[18]

Alongside his sister Daniele, he entered Big Brother Brasil as a contestant in its 25th season.[19]

References

  1. Globo Esporte Archived 5 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese)
  2. "Diego Hypólito é primeiro brasileiro campeão mundial de ginástica" Archived 16 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine Murilo Garavello, UOL, 26 November 2005
  3. "Dani leva o ouro no salto em SP; Diego mantém alto nível, mas é prata no solo". sportv.com (in Portuguese). 21 May 2016. Archived from the original on 25 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  4. "Diego Hypolito". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  5. "Brazil's Hypolito, Nory take silver and bronze in men's floor exercise". USA Today. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  6. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Diego Hypólito". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
  7. Nakazato, Camila (10 January 2025). "Conheça Daniele e Diego Hypólito, ginastas do BBB 25". Olimpíada Todo Dia (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 26 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  8. "Brazil's Hypolito, Nory take silver and bronze in men's floor exercise". USA Today. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  9. "Official website". Archived from the original on 12 November 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  10. "Dani leva o ouro no salto em SP; Diego mantém alto nível, mas é prata no solo". sportv.com. 21 May 2016. Archived from the original on 25 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  11. "Gymnastics world champ Diego Hypolito confirmed with dengue in Brazil". Associated Press. 7 April 2008. Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  12. "Diego Hypolito – site". DiegoHypolito. Archived from the original on 12 November 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  13. "Official website". Archived from the original on 12 November 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
  14. MAG qualification scores—apparatus Archived 17 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine NBC Olympics, 9 August 2008
  15. Results – Floor Men's Floor Exercise Final Archived 20 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine Beijing, 17 August 2008
  16. "Diego Hypólito e advogado terminam namoro de quase três anos". extra.globo.com (in Portuguese). 20 November 2020. Archived from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  17. Hypolito, Diego (8 May 2019). "Quero falar uma coisa". Universo Online Esporte (in Portuguese). Universo Online. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  18. Ofuxico (14 December 2019). "Hypolito lança livro e conta com a presença de famosos". ofuxico.com.br (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  19. "Diego Hypolito". Notícias da TV (in Brazilian Portuguese). 9 January 2025. Archived from the original on 2 October 2025. Retrieved 25 September 2025.