The Sambódromo is one of Rio de Janeiro’s most famous landmarks, the stage for the city’s annual Carnival parade, when it vibrates with energy and colour to the sound of samba. In 2016, the giant floats and spectacular costumes will give way to Olympic and Paralympic sports, as the archery events and marathon start and finish are held there. And this week, the venue had taste of what’s to come, when it staged the Brazilian Archery Championships, the first time the sport has taken place there.

Along the thoroughfare where the bands, dancers and floats parade, were positioned 32 targets to be shot at by 216 archers. Among them was Marcus Vinicius D’Almeida, one of Brazil’s main medal hopes for 2016. Still only 16 years old, he is already 10th in the world rankings.

And after winning silver medals at his year’s Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing and World Cup Final in Lausanne, as well as three gold medals at the South American Games in Santiago, D’Almeida admitted that competing at the Sambódromo has intensified his dream of winning his country’s first Olympic medal in archery.

“I’ve been thinking about Rio 2016 since I joined the national team two years ago, and competing here at the Sambódromo only increases this,” said the young man who earned the nickname of ‘the Neymar of Archery’ in Nanjing. “I’ve already thought about how the venue will be and imagined competing in the final here, celebrating a gold medal with a big party going on in the stands. Just thinking about the possibility of this gives me goosebumps.”

More than 200 archers are competing in the Brazilian championships at the Sambódromo (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)

For Sarah Nikitin, Brazil’s leading female archer, staging archery at the Sambódromo is a great chance to grow interest in the sport in Brazil. “The Sambódromo may not have been built as a sports venue, but I think it’s an imaginative choice and represents a great opportunity to make archery more popular in Brazil,” said the 25-year-old, who is currently ranked 29th in the world. “We’ll be competing in a place that plays an important part in the city’s history and welcomes lots of tourists every year, and this will give us high visibility.

“We are used to competing in open areas where the wind is more unpredictable compared to here, where the big stands channel the wind to a certain extent. In the position that we’ll compete in during the Games, the wind will come from in front or behind us, which is good, since this interferes with the arrows less than when the wind is lateral.”

D’Almeida says the conditions for Brazilian archers have improved dramatically in recent years. “The situation has got a lot better since Rio won the right to stage the Olympic Games,” he said. “We have more visibility and investment and we have created a stronger structure, with a permanent national team and foreign coaches. It’s our best chance to win an Olympic medal and I hope it comes, as an Olympic medal changes a sporting life.”

The home of Rio's Carnival parade will stage the Olympic and Paralympic archery in 2016 (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro) 

The Brazilian Archery Championships, which feature individual and team events with both recurve (Olympic style) and compound bows, will finish on Saturday (1 November) and entrance in free.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games archery competition will feature 128 archers – 64 men and 64 women – competing in individual and team events. Qualification begins in 2015.