Curaçao Athletes in RIO 2016

After four years, the world is about to be captivated by another memorable season of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, better known as Rio 2016, from 5 through 21 of August 2016. This time around, sport fans will be able to watch the games live at one of the many official designated locations in the host city, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city of Rio which is well-known for its Carnival festival featuring spectacular costumes and samba rhythms, has so many things to offer the visitors during the Olympic season. The public can enjoy the multicultural dimensions of Brazil by means of different parties, exhibitions, plays, concerts, and many other fun and interactive activities organized by the host city and Rio 2016 partners.

The Olympic competitions will take place in 32 different locations in Rio, including five co-host cities: Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Manaus, Salvador, and São Paolo. Fans around the world can also join one another at the various live sites to watch the sporting actions on big screens. Another unmissable tradition is the concept of National Houses. These will be arranged near each official location to provide the public with the opportunity to be closer to their favorite athletes, since they will also be there to celebrate their victories. As you can see, this event is one of the biggest sport events of all times. Among the 10,000 athletes who will participate, only 297 medals will be given out. Hence, it is no surprise that countries are giving their all to support native athletes in order to outshine the other competing countries.

When it comes to sports you may be familiar with names such as Churandy Martina, Andrew Jones, Jean-Julian Rojer, Kenley Jansen, and so on. Without neglecting the numerous other talented locals on our island, we must recognize the progress of another promising young athlete, Liemarvin Bonevacia. This young and dynamic individual is catching the attention of everyone who is following his track and field life. It is surely an honor for Curaçao to have one more “Bon Yu di Kòrsou” participating at the 2016 Olympic Games. He will be competing in the 400M race with the aim to break his own personal record and achieve a new running time of 43 seconds. 

With less than one month away, athletes all over the world are in full preparation to face the best of the best in 42 different sport categories during the Olympic Games. The selection of sports varies from archery to athletics, to basketball and sky jumping. Just like the other participating countries, Curaçao also has a group of athletes who will be competing for the Olympic medals in Rio 2016, and who are currently partaking in intense workouts and preparation. Some of them are still competing in tournaments that will finally determine if they will be actually participating at the games this August.

Travel agencies are overblown by the interest for Rio 2016. If you haven’t booked your flight yet, make sure you do so as soon as possible. In the meantime you can try your luck by participating in the ‘Dream, Believe, Achieve’ campaign sponsored by UTS and FDDK, with a chance to win two free trips to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.