A few weeks ago, the mother of South America’s fastest marathon runner filed a missing person report. She said he left home around 7 p.m. on June 19 and had not been seen since. He was last spotted near his home in Paraguaçu Paulista. The missing man was Olympic runner Daniel do Nascimento, nicknamed Armero. When he returned 44 days later, he was found in generally good physical condition. But that was only the beginning.

Authorities confirmed that do Nascimento was found in São Paulo’s Belenzinho neighborhood and safely reunited with his family. According to Brazilian media reports, a passerby recognized him walking along Rua Dr. Ubaldino do Amaral and immediately alerted the Metropolitan Civil Guard. Municipal officers confirmed his identity and found him in good physical condition. He was then taken to a police precinct in Tatuapé, where he reunited with his family.

The Brazilian and São Paulo athletics federations joined the search, urging coaches, clubs, and fans nationwide to help find the Americas record holder. A witness later reported seeing do Nascimento walking toward Assis, about 36 kilometers away, where he asked for water before continuing on foot.

While he was missing, his mother revealed that he had been struggling with mental health issues following his 2025 ban. The Athletics Integrity Unit suspended Daniel for five years after he tested positive for three banned steroids, ruling him out of the Paris Olympics and likely the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

His mother even tried using social media to trace her son’s whereabouts. “Does anyone have any information about my son? His name is Daniel Nascimento, better known by the nickname Armero. He was a marathon runner,” she posted online.

“A thousand things go through your mind as a mother. I think I’ve lost about 10 kilos. Daniel’s siblings are also very worried. We just want him to show up.”

Now that he is back, his return has brought immense relief to his mother, Valdirene Paula Ferreira, and his five siblings, who spent more than a month making desperate appeals on social media for information about his safety.

Daniel do Nascimento’s personal struggles beyond the track

He represented Brazil at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and finished eighth in the men’s marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

In April 2022, he made history by running a blistering 2:04:51 at the Seoul Marathon, setting both the South American and Pan-American records for the fastest time ever recorded by a marathoner born outside Africa, and that’s not it.

Later that year, he drew global attention at the 2022 New York City Marathon by breaking away from the pack early and building a massive solo lead for more than 20 miles before collapsing in the heat and humidity.

But in July 2024, just weeks before the Paris Olympic Games, his athletic career took a turn. He was suspended after out-of-competition samples tested positive for prohibited anabolic agents, including drostanolone, metenolone, and nandrolone.

The AIU in 2025 said “clear evidence of the athlete’s use of multiple prohibited substances.”

Under Rules 2.1 and 2.2 of the Anti-Doping Rules, do Nascimento admitted to the violations and accepted the sanction. Pursuant to Rules 10.2.1 and 10.4, he faced a six-year period of ineligibility, but received a one-year reduction under Rule 10.8.1 for his early admission. The AIU therefore imposed a five-year ban beginning July 15, 2024, and disqualified all of his results from July 4, 2024, including the forfeiture of any medals, titles, awards, points, prize money, and appearance fees.

The AIU has taken a tough stance on anti-doping violations. Most recently, it banned former half-marathon world-record holder Kibiwott Kandie for seven years after he refused a test and tampered with the doping-control process. He initially faced an eight-year suspension but received a one-year reduction after accepting the sanctions early.

Anyways, following his suspension, do Nascimento returned home to live with his mother in Paraguaçu Paulista. To support him, she took him along to her job at a cassava-processing plant, while do Nascimento attempted to maintain his physical conditioning by secretly going on long solitary runs through nearby sugarcane fields.

“He would secretly train in the middle of a sugarcane field. I think he really missed the routine of being an athlete,” she told Portuguese-language media outlet G1 Globo.

It remains unclear where he was or what happened during those 44 days.