OLYMPICS-RIO/PARALYMPICS Rio de Janeiro celebrates one year before the start of the 2016 Paralympic Games

Record ID: 141676

  • Title: OLYMPICS-RIO/PARALYMPICS Rio de Janeiro celebrates one year before the start of the 2016 Paralympic Games
  • Date: 7th September 2015
  • Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (SEPTEMBER 07, 2015) (REUTERS) COUNTDOWN CLOCK TO THE START OF THE 2016 PARALYMPIC GAMES IS STARTED ON A JUMBO SCREEN AS ATHLETES AND OFFICIALS WATCH ON THE MASCOT FOR THE 2016 PARALYMPIC GAMES, TOM, DANCING
  • Embargoed: 22nd September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7COF0NGMYOFR9VPW74POBHEFP
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: On Monday (September 7), Rio de Janeiro marked the official countdown with one year to go until the start of the 2016 Paralympic Games with the Paralympic Festival.
    The two-day celebration ended on Monday marking one year from the opening ceremony of the 2016 Paralympic Games as well as Brazilian Independence Day.
    The festival was presented by Rio 2016 and the International Paralympic Committee and included the official start of the countdown clock, presentations by Rio 2016 President Carlos Arthur Nuzman and the President of the International Paralympic Committee Sir Philip Craven, as well as several Paralympic sporting events including basketball, soccer and track.
    Craven, who arrived to Rio on Sunday (September 6) and will stay for a week to oversee progress towards the hosting of the games, said things were already heating up in Rio.
    "Well, it means everything because really this is really the kick-off point for the games, one year to go. We've had great athletes competing. You've just seen the athletics. And to really feel the spirit of Rio, this unique spirit of sport, of life. So, I'm just over the moon to be here," he said.
    The 2016 Olympics and Paralympics will be the first ever hosted in South America.
    Organizers said they expected 2016 to be the largest Paralympic Games in history with 4,350 athletes from 178 countries expected to compete.
    Tickets for the Paralympics also went on sale for Brazilian residents on Monday and will open later for international fans.
    In total 3.3 million tickets will be made available, making it the largest Paralympic spectator experience ever with half a million more tickets on sale than were made available in London in 2012.
    Nuzman said the games will not only be a major success, but will also be a massive celebration for fans and athletes.
    "In addition to being really well organized, it (the Paralympics) will be an exceptional celebration with the human warmth of the Paralympic Games," Nuzman said.
    Of course the one year celebration until the Paralympics would not have been complete without Paralympic sport on display.
    Monday's event was free to the public and included several different sporting contests.
    Fans lined up to watch women's and men's Paralympic 100-meter sprinting competitions.
    Ireland's Jason Smyth, known the Usain Bolt of the Paralympics, won the men's competition to be named the world's fastest Paralympic man.
    Smyth is the fastest Paralympic athlete of all time, holding the all-time world record of 10.46 seconds in the 100 meter.
    The sprinter, who is visually impaired and won the gold medal in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprinting competitions at both the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2008 Games in Beijing, said he hoped the Paralympics would inspire people of all walks of life.
    "I obviously face my own challenges with limited vision, but yet I've been able to do incredible things, having incredible experiences, represent my country. You know, a number of different things that I feel that Paralympic sport gives people with those disabilities an opportunity, but it also, for me, is a way to inspire people - with disabilities and without. Because, you talk to any one of the Paralympic athletes; they have a story, they have a life changing situation that they've had to overcome and overcome to succeed and I think that that is what's the inspiration behind Paralympic sport," Smyth said.
    The Brazilian women's sitting volleyball team defeated the United States in a hotly contested game of volleyball as well.
    Visitors here also got the chance to try their hand at a few sports with scores of people shooting hopes while trying their hand at the specially designed wheelchairs Paralympic athletes use to play basketball.
    Argentina and Brazil also faced off in a Five-a-side football (soccer) game for the visually impaired.
    Soccer is a passion in both countries and the heartfelt thrill is no different for visually impaired athletes trying to sink a goal over their opponents.
    The sport is played with a specialized ball that has a rattle inside of it so the players can hear where the ball is while it is in play.
    The 2016 Olympics in Rio kick off here on August 5 with the Paralympic Games starting a month later on September 7 and running until September 18, 2016.
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