Paralympic Committee unveils Rio 2016 ceremony uniforms

The athletes' uniforms for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games were unveiled on Thursday (Jun. 23) in Rio de Janeiro. The themes chosen for the outfits were inspired by Brazil's nature and Rio's Tijuca forest, the largest urban forest in Brazil.

Jovani Guissone, a wheelchair fencing gold medalist in London 2012, was one of the Paralympic athletes chosen to model the new uniform. Wounded in a robbery in 2004 that left him paraplegic, he saw the chance to overcome his trauma in fencing. “Sport means so much to me. When I was shot it was like a terrible blow, I was only 22. But I was able to hold my head up and now I'm in the home stretch, training hard, and looking forward to grabbing my second Paralympic medal,” he said.

Andrew Parsons, president of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, says he expects Brazilian athletes to excel themselves as they compete at home. “We've been around for a while, but now we can rely on a training center, more support and encouragement, and the chance to make Paralympic sports popular in Brazil. If we come out in fifth now, we can dream of flying higher in Tokyo 2020,” he said. Brazil ranked seventh in the London 2012 Paralympics medal table.

The Paralympic Games, Parsons said, are an important opportunity to change the way the society looks at people with disabilities. “It's more than just medals. It's about respect for those who are different from you.”

Improving accessibility for people with disabilities in Rio will be one of the Paralympic legacies, he pointed out. “Rio has improved in terms of accessibility for mass transit services and pavements. No city has come out of the games a perfect place, but raising lasting awareness of accessibility is what really matters,” he said.

Translated by Mayra Borges

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