Mengão rocks Paralympic sports!

posted by Paulo Vitor\ Lancenet\

It's not just striker Obina who's been rocking at Gávea. After tying Fluminense for the most state titles by defeating Botafogo again in the second leg of the competition final, the Flamengo team can celebrate further triumphs. In the Central-East regional stage of the Loterias Caixa Brasil Paralympic Athletics and Swimming Circuit, held in Brasília on the 26th and 27th of last month, Flamengo teamed up with Urece (an NGO for sports and culture for the blind) and participated with a record delegation of 19 athletes in both sports.

The main highlights of Fla-Urece were the sprinters Hilário Neto, Felipe Gomes, Liwigston Costa and Leonardo Sales and the swimmers Leandro Mendes and Pedro Rafael.

"It's very important to participate in a high-level competition like this. It's a chance to get more athletes to the Beijing Paralympics," explains Anderson Dias, president of Urece and a member of the National Five-Aside Football Team, who understands the importance of Rubro-Negro and other teams to the development of the NGO's activities. "This was only possible thanks to our efforts and the people who have always believed in our work."

The Flamengo-Urece team represented Rio de Janeiro ably in the central-eastern stage of the Loterias Caixa Brasil Paralympic Circuit, winning 16 gold medals, six silver medals, and four bronze medals. Visually impaired athletes Leandro Mendes and Fábio Cruz each took home four gold medals.