2016-Mar-31

Cisco Olympian: Meet Luis Puig

Luis Puig · Brazil

Luis (seated, on right) at a Cisco volunteer event in Sao Paulo.

Like many aspiring athletes, Luis Puig dreamed of competing in the Olympic Games. But unlike most athletes, Luis came within one handball game of fulfilling that dream. As a member of the Brazilian National Handball Team, Luis proudly represented his country at international competitions, such as the Pan American and South American Games as a teenager. With the 2000 Sydney Games on the horizon, Luis and his teammates had a chance at making their Olympic dreams become a reality.

“The Olympics is the ultimate dream for any athlete in any sport,” Luis says. “It was our goal at the time and we played hard, but Cuba qualified and we did not.”

Now, many years later, Luis will have the opportunity to participate in the Games in his home country of Brazil—albeit in a different capacity—when he takes part in the Torch Relay as a Cisco Olympian next summer.

“It was not our time then, but now I have the opportunity to participate in the Games by carrying the torch in my home country,” Luis says. “I am very excited to be there.”

When he accepts the torch and fulfills a lifelong dream, Luis will do so knowing exactly what it means to always strive to be “Faster, Higher, Stronger.”

Luis with daughters Teresa and Carolina. Play the video to hear his story in his own words.

Growing up in Sao Paulo, Luis took up handball while still in school and spent 10 years of his life as a professional athlete. While his career did not end with an Olympic appearance, Luis took many valuable friendships and lessons from his days on the Brazilian National Team—sentiments that are echoed every day at Cisco.

“The closest friends I have today, all came from handball,” Luis reminisces. “You make new friends from different cultures and have so many different experiences. Teamwork, discipline, focus, commitment and most of all respect–these are the core values that I learned in sport and apply to my professional and personal life.”

After a decade playing professionally, Luis made a difficult decision that led to a new chapter in his life. He retired from handball and accepted a job in the technology field. Five years later, Luis joined Cisco, where he has worked for the past 11 years. Unable to give up athletics entirely, Luis trained for and competed in triathlons, until he and his wife Beatriz faced their biggest challenge yet.

In December 2013, Beatriz was pregnant with the couple’s second child. Due to medical complications, their daughter Teresa was born at only five months and given a less than 10 percent chance to survive.

“When she was born, Teresa was smaller than the size of my hand,” Luis recalls. “No one but my wife and I believed she could make it. We could only pray and trust in the doctors.”

Born so premature, Teresa was severely underdeveloped. Each day presented a new challenge and multiple surgeries—lungs, heart, brain. Luis and Beatriz could do nothing but fight each day’s battle and live one day at a time.

And today?

“She is beautiful,” Luis says. “She enjoys life as she should. When she was born, my dream was that she would someday be able to have a normal life—and she does. She is our miracle.”

After a decade of playing professionally, Luis retired from handball and entered the technology field.

Now 2 years old, Teresa and her sister Carolina, 5, serve as constant reminders to their father of the power of believing in something—whether it be a child’s fight to live or an athletic dream given up on years ago. When Luis accepts the Olympic Torch, on behalf of Cisco next summer with his family by his side, it will be with a sense of patriotism and pride after all that he has been through.

“It is a dream come true,” Luis says. “It is an honor to represent Cisco and experience the spirit of the Olympic Games in my country. It will be amazing.”

Through incredible perseverance in the face of adversity, Luis demonstrates the true meaning of a Cisco Olympian.

Related Links

• Why They Carry the Torch—announcement of Torchbearer winners
• Rio 2016 Participation Programs—ways to get involved with Rio 2016
• Cisco and Rio 2016 Mobile App—resources, a social feed to share photos and messages, a fitness section, videos, maps, sports details, and more