The Rio de Janeiro 2022 Boccia World Championships will take place from December 5th to 13th, with free entrance, at the Olympic Park, in Barra da Tijuca, in the West Zone of the city. For the main competition of the Paris 2024 cycle, more than 170 athletes are confirmed, from 41 countries, and will be on the same stage of the Rio 2016 Games, where Brazilian athletes won two of their eleven medals in Boccia in the history of the Paralympic Games.
The public will be able to watch, free of charge, the best Boccia athletes from the five continents. Among the players, Brazil is proud to have in its team the number one in the world in the BC2 division: Maciel dos Santos, Paralympic champion in London 2012 and bronze in the Tokyo 2020 Games. The most experienced athlete of the Brazilian team seeks the unprecedented title of world champion in what will be the second edition of the world championships held by Brazil. The first time was in 2006, in Copacabana, also in Rio de Janeiro, and Maciel attended then as well.
The competition, organized and hosted by ANDE (National Association of Sports for the Disabled), which manages the modality in Brazil, will be broadcasted on YouTube from four courts. Those who are present at the Carioca Arena 1 will follow up to 12 games happening simultaneously.
Even before the competition starts: some numbers are already historic: more than 300 applications in less than a week to apply for the 40 vacancies in the Volunteer Program, managed by Sports Network, and the popular election for the name of the mascot, which is a tribute to the greatest Brazilian medallist in this sport. Dibo is a contraction of “Dirceu” and “da Bocha”, a posthumous tribute to one of the greatest Brazilian boccia icons: Dirceu Pinto. Owner of five Paralympics medals, Dirceu passed away in 2020 at the age of 39, due to heart problems.
Follow the Rio de Janeiro 2022 Boccia World Championships networks:
Website: rio2022boccia.com.br
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RJ2022WorldBoccia
Instagram: www.instagram.com/andenarede
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ANDEnarede
