Judokas Talk about the Meaning of the Olympic Spirit on the Day We Celebrate the Founding of the International Olympic Committee
The day of June 23rd promotes the Olympic and sport values all over the world.
June 23rd is considered the Olympic Day and marks the anniversary of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), founded in 1894 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in order to re-establish the Olympic Games that used to take place in Ancient Greece. Since then, the celebration date has been promoting the Olympic values and spreading them throughout the world.
Olympic medalist in London 2012 and one of the youngest athletes to participate in the Olympic Games (Beijing 2008), the judoka Mayra Aguiar highlighted some values that represent the Olympic spirit.
"I've had the opportunity to compete in two Olympic Games and I can say the anxiety for the coming of the next edition is overwhelming. Celebrating the Olympic Day so close to the coming of the event is really cool because it makes me even more motivated. It reminds me of the values I learned from these two Games opportunities: resilience, friendship and honesty. I think that's what this day represents. "
Mayra’s mate in London 2012, the middleweight Maria Portela, remembered the excitement she experienced during the Games, when she has first participated in the world’s largest multi-sport event.
"Becoming an Olympic athlete is a dream coming true. The Olympic spirit is something great that I had the opportunity to feel in London 2012, seeing that so many sports worked together for a common purpose. What I felt there was something so special I don’t even know how to explain it. And if one wished to be an Olympic athlete one has to believe it is possible and work for this dream. The road is very difficult, regardless of the type of sport, and therefore you must believe and work for that dream."
On the other hand, one of the representatives of the Brazilian judo’s new generation, the extra-lightweight Eric Takabatake also stressed the athlete’s sacrifice in pursuit of their Olympic dream: "Having the Olympic spirit is having the will, the determination and it is training more and sacrificing oneself in the pursuit of the dream, the Olympic medal," synthetized the judoka who dreams of fighting in the Olympics for the first time in 2016, in Rio.
