Brazilian Delegation Boards for the South American Youth Games
There will be four athletes defending the Brazilian judo in the Peruvian capital
The Brazilian delegation that will compete in the South American Youth Games boarded on Thursday morning to the host-city of the competition, Lima, capital of Peru. Around a hundred athletes, competing in all 22 sports of the event, will defend Brazil in this contest which gathers around 1200 under 17 year-old athletes from 14 different countries.
“BOC is providing to these young people the same facilities as to the Olympic athletes. We will provide the best possible conditions so that they achieve their best performance, regardless of the outcome, \"said Gustavo Harada, Head Assistant of the Brazilian mission.\" It is an honor representing the Brazil Team and they should grab this opportunity and do their best in the competition. The Brazilian Olympic sport is living a special moment. The structure is much better now than before. Athletes must take advantage of this moment, \"said Harada.
Four of these athletes will represent Brazil : Thais Kondo ( 44kg , Judo Lemanczuk / PR ) , Layana Colman ( 52kg , Judo Rocha / MS ) , Leonardo Arruda ( 55kg , Jequiá / Umbra / RJ ) and Lélio Puggina Junior ( 66kg , Minas / MG ) . The athletes will be joined by the coaching advisor Edmilson Leite and the coach Douglas Potrich. The head of the delegation is the Brazilian Olympic judoka from Atlanta 96, Sebastian Pereira.
“This is an important sports and cultural championship; it is an excellent experience of a new event and it is great that we are the first participants in this competition. It\'s interesting and different. We, as judokas, are enjoying the opportunity of being together with so many athletes from different countries and sharing our experience with them. It\'s cool and relieves a little bit of the championship pressure, \"said the medalist of the last World Cadet Championship from the United States, Layana Colman.
The BOC’s complex planning to enable the Brazilian participation in the event from Lima was presented to the athletes during a workshop with presentations on the sports competitions , cultural programs, transportation, medical area, doping, press, social media and the Olympic Movement .
The creation of the South American Youth Games is part of the strategic planning of the South American Sports Organization (Odesur) for sports development within this region. The initiative is similar to the Olympic Youth Games, following the same sports program, age and philosophy of strengthening the sport and culture and promoting the ethics and education of young people. The next edition of the Olympic Youth Games will be held in 2014 in Nanjing, China. The South American is not qualifying for the Olympics, but it serves as a preparation stage.
