The Rio de Janeiro bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games received an important boost this Monday, March 17.  In a ceremony carried out in Palácio da Cidade, the Rio de Janeiro City Government transferred to the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) the management of the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, which was built for the swimming, synchronized swimming and diving competitions of the Pan American Games Rio 2007.  The Aquatic Park will be managed by BOC for 20 years and BOC invited Ricardo Prado, Olympic medalist and former 400m medley world record holder to manage it.  The Maria Lenk Aquatic Center is part of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Park, major competition center, in accordance with the Rio 2016 bid project.

Likewise, BOC and the City Government are negotiating the transfer of the Rio Velodrome, also built for Rio 2007, within the Olympic Park.  Both facilities will be part of the Olympic Training Center to be built whether or not the Rio 2016 bid wins. “This is a live legacy from the Pan American Games and it is extremely important for the Rio 2016 bid.  The Aquatic Center is included in the questionnaire delivered to IOC and, by taking on its management, the Brazilian Olympic Committee demonstrates the Rio 2016 bid commitment to the Olympic Movement.  For the Brazilian sports, Rio 2016 is already a reality,” stated Carlos Arthur Nuzman, BOC and Rio 2016 Bid Committee president.  Nuzman explained that all the sports (swimming, synchronized swimming, water polo and diving) will be coordinated by former athletes.

The first event to be carried out under BOC management will be the Maria Lenk Trophy (Brazilian Swimming Olympic Trials), between May 06 and 10, last opportunity for the Brazilian swimmers to achieve Olympic qualification standards and a vacancy for Beijing 2008.  In addition, BOC has a list of activities that will be developed in the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center:  courses, seminars, congresses and workshops in the sports area; training activities for athletes, coaches, referees and other people involved in the preparation and development of athletes, sports competitions and Olympic sports; swimming, water polo, diving and synchronized swimming school for children, teens, adults and seniors; local, regional, national and international competitions, fitness center; social activities linked to sports; sports and non-sports events.

According to the BOC project, the Aquatic Park will also be made available for international athletes to train under interchange programs maintained by the entity.  Olympic Committees and athletes from the Americas and Africa have already shown interest in competing and taking part in sports interchanges in the Olympic standard facilities of the Maria Lenk Aquatic Park, which is one of the legacies from the Pan American Games Rio 2007.