The Natal stage of the Loterias Caixa Paralympic Meeting was attended by 248 athletes from Rio Grande do Norte and three other states in the Region (CE, PB and PE) in athletics, weightlifting and swimming, this Saturday morning. Among them, some of the most awarded and experienced competitors from the host state, such as Thalita Simplício, owner of three medals at the Paralympic Games and two-time world champion in the 400m, and Maria Clara Augusto, silver in the 400m at the Parapan American Games in Santiago 2023 and bronze in the 400m at the Paris 2023 World Cup, in athletics, and Maria Rizonaide, and João Maria França, in weightlifting.
The Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) welcomed 153 participants in athletics events and 33 weightlifters, while the Sesi Clube Natal pool was the stage for 55 swimmers.
“Competing with close friends is great; I even met a young athlete who told me that I am her inspiration. I’m very happy”, commented Maria Clara, known as Clarinha, from APARN. “I’m just waiting for the tests to end so I can eat chicken with sweet potatoes and farofa, which a colleague’s mother brought for us”, added the 19-year-old native of class T47 (congenital malformation in the left arm). “If it weren’t here, I wouldn’t eat this anywhere else,” she added.
Her training and teammate, Thalita Simplício, did not accompany Clarinha at this meal. “I prefer the natural sandwich I brought today,” she said, between laughs.
Family members of the athletes formed a crowd along the athletics track to support the competitors. Some even took an umbrella to the 32ºC that scorched the Christmas morning after rapid rain in the first hour of the event.
“It’s wonderful to compete at home, I wish there were more times here in Natal, because it’s a way for people to learn more and more about the Brazilian Paralympic movement”, celebrated Thalita Simplício, from the T11 class (for blind or partially sighted athletes) . Since 2021, when the Brazilian Paralympic Committee started promoting the Loterias Caixa Paralympic Meetings throughout Brazil, this is the third time that Natal has hosted the event.
The pair ran the 100m and 200m. Clarinha ran the 100m in 13.93 and the 200m in 28.35; Thalita completed the 100m in 12.66 and the 200m in 26.26, accompanied by her guide and coach Felipe Veloso. Thalita’s marks would be the third and fourth best of the year, respectively, if the Meeting’s results had an effect on the international ranking – which is not the case.
These were Clarinha and Thalita’s last two shots in competition before the World Athletics Championships, in Kobe, Japan, starting on May 17th. In approximately 10 days, they will embark for the event, which is also worth a place at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, in August.
Two other Paralympic medalists competed in athletics at the Christmas stage of the Meeting Loterias. In the 400m of the T20 class, Daniel Martins (Amei/SP), gold medalist at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, completed the distance in 50s36. His best time in the 2024 season is 49.20, achieved on March 16, in the first national phase of the Loterias Caixa Circuit, at the Paralympic Training Center, in São Paulo. In the javelin throw of the F57 class (athletes who compete sitting down), Cícero Nobre from Paraíba, bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Games, from Apace (PB), threw 48.50m, which would be the third best mark in the world in the current season .
In weightlifting, the home team also secured their gold medals. In the women’s up to 50 kilos category, Maria Rizonaide (SADEF-RN) lifted the bar at 99 kilos on the second attempt and was the champion. João Maria França (SADEF-RN) secured the stage title in the up to 59 kilos category, with 175 kilos on the bar on the second attempt.
Paralympic Meeting in 2024
In addition to Natal, Vitória, Espírito Santo, also hosted the Loterias Caixa Paralympic Meeting this Saturday morning. The 2024 Loterias Caixa Paralympic Meeting season began in February with simultaneous stages in Porto Alegre (RS) and Rio Branco (AC). The event has also passed through Florianópolis (SC), Porto Velho (RO), Curitiba (PR), Cuiabá (MT), Salvador (BA), Campo Grande (MS), Goiânia (GO), Aracaju (SE), Recife (PE), Palmas (TO), Belo Horizonte (MG) and João Pessoa (PB).
This year, the event offers more modalities and will take place in all Brazilian capitals. In 2024, in addition to athletics, swimming and weightlifting competitions organized by the Directorate of High Performance Sports (DEAR) of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB), the Meetings will also host regional stages of competitions organized by the Directorate of Sports Development (DDE): Paralympics School, University Paralympics, Military Paralympics and Intercenters (competition between students from CPB Reference Centers, a project that takes advantage of sports spaces in states in all regions of the country to offer Paralympic modalities, from initiation to high performance). With this, the Meetings will also host disputes in three new modalities: boccia, archery and sports shooting.
The Loterias Caixa Paralympic Meeting aims to develop parasports throughout the national territory, with the participation of new talents and elite athletes. It has been designed and organized by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB) since 2021, as an update of the traditional Caixa Loterias Circuits, which had already been held since 2005. Between 2021 and 2023, it brought together athletics, swimming and weightlifting events, with each city hosting competitions of at least one of these modalities.
The next stages of the Meeting will be on May 11th, simultaneously in Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro.
Sponsorships
Loterias Caixa is the official sponsor of the Loterias Caixa Paralympic Meeting
Loterias Caixa and Braskem are the official sponsors of athletics
Loterias Caixa is the official sponsor of swimming
Loterias Caixa is the official sponsor of weightlifting
Caixa Lottery Program for High Level Athletes
Athletes Maria Clara Augusto and Thalita Simplício are members of the Loterias Caixa High Level Athletes Program, an individual sponsorship program by Loterias Caixa that benefits 114 athletes.
Communications Office of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee ([email protected])
Tags: Potiguares celebrate Paralympic Meeting Loterias Caixa chicken sweet potatoes
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