Athletes endorse newly opened Rio 2016 venue

Source: Xinhua | May 15, 2016, Sunday |

Online Edition

BRAZILIAN athletes have given their seal of approval to the Carioca 2 Arena, after the Rio 2016 Olympic venue was officially opened on Saturday.

The 10,000-seat facility - part of the Olympic Park complex in Rio's southwestern neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca - will host judo, wrestling and boccia at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in August and September.

"To see everything ready like this is even more motivation," London 2012 Olympic judo champion Sarah Menezes told Rio2016.com. "It's a sign that it's nearly here, it's close."

Joice Silva, one of the favorites for the -58kg freestyle wrestling gold medal in Rio, said: "I am already starting to imagine, to visualise my day, how it is all going to be," Silva said. "Seeing everything ready makes me calmer, just being able to know where everything will be."

Another athlete impressed by the venue was Maciel Santos, gold medalist in the individual BC2 boccia at the London Paralympic Games.

"You see yourself, the court, the crowd, your relatives, the Brazilian fans. It will be like it was in London," Santos said. "I hope the Brazilian public really gets behind this Paralympic sport."

Among the dignitaries at the inauguration were Rio mayor Eduardo Paes, Rio 2016 president Carlos Nuzman and Brazil's new sports minister Leonardo Picciani.

After the Olympics, the Carioca 2 Arena will become a sports training facility.

Olympics

About Us
|
Terms of Use
|
RSS
|
Privacy Policy
|
Contact Us
|
Shanghai Call Center: 962288
|
Tip-off hotline: 52920043

沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
|
互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
|
网络视听许可证：0909346
|
广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
|
增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012

Athletes endorse newly opened Rio 2016 venue

Email this to your friend