Representatives of the Rio de Janeiro candidature for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games are to attend the World Championships in Athletics, which begins on Saturday 15th in Berlin, Germany. The competition will bring together some 2,500 athletes, including Olympic medalists such as Brazilian long jumper Maurren Maggi, who took gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The Rio de Janeiro Olympic project will be presented at a stand set up in the Market Place, a leisure area in front of the Berlin Olympic Stadium where the world championships take place. State Governor Sérgio Cabral, City Mayor Eduardo Paes and the national secretary for elite sports, Ricardo Leyser, will attend the games, accompanied by the president of the Rio 2016 Committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman, general secretary Carlos Roberto Osório, communications and marketing director Leonardo Gryner and sports general manager Agberto Guimarães. “The World Athletics Championship is a big event that attracts some of the best athletes in the world. We have to pay tribute to this sporting celebration. Once again, our delegation includes representatives from the top three echelons of government, stressing the importance of this event for Rio 2016”, said Carlos Arthur Nuzman.

One of the 800m finalists at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Agberto Guimarães believes that the World Championships in Athletics is yet another learning opportunity for the Rio 2016 candidacy.  “We will be keeping our eyes open and exchanging ideas for enhancing the Rio de Janeiro project,” said the Rio 2016 sports general manager.

The organizers are expecting up to 50 thousand people to attend the World Championships. Around 3,500 journalists from all over the world are set to cover the event, which will be televised across 190 countries.