LEONARDO BENANSATTO and RICARDO BRITO, of Reuters, report from Porto Alegre…
Port Alegre, Brazil
Reuters
Less than three months from the Olympic Games in Paris, Brazilian athletes from the devastated southern state of Rio Grande do Sul are giving up their dreams to compete and staying at home to help with the rescue of victims of the severe floods.
Rowers Evaldo Becker and Piedro Tuchtenhagen, due to compete in the qualifying phase for the Olympic Games in the lightweight double sculls category, decided to drop their sporting quest and join volunteers saving stranded neighbors, finding them shelter and distributing aid.
Brazilian pre-Olympic rowers Evaldo Mathias Becker and Piedro Tuchtenhagen help load a boat used to rescue flood victims in Porto Alegre, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on 10th May, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Adriano Machado
“I said: Piedro, I can’t do it anymore,” Becker told Reuters by telephone.
“The Olympics are the dream of our lives, but today we cannot see ourselves leaving our state,” said Tuchtenhagen.
“The Olympics are the dream of our lives, but today we cannot see ourselves leaving our state.”
– Piedro Tuchtenhagen
Their training was disrupted by the floods that inundated the streets of state capital Porto Alegre after the river Guaiba burst its bank. So they began helping to distribute donations and rescue families and their pets.
“I didn’t even think twice. It was my last chance to get to the Olympics. I was excited. But the flood waters took my dream away just as it took lives,” Becker said.
Swimmer Viviane Jungblut, who already qualified for the open water race, also dropped out and said on social media she would put her efforts into the rescue and recovery operations.
World and Olympic surfing champion Italo Ferreira went to Rio Grande do Sul to help in the rescue efforts. The coach of the Brazil Olympic men’s judo team, Antonio Carlos Kiko Pereira, also joined in rescue work.
The athletes stayed in Rio Grande do Sul even as the Brazilian Olympic Committee devised a plan to evacuate them from the state to train elsewhere in Brazil for the qualifiers.
Brazilian pre-Olympic rower Evaldo Mathias Becker poses for a picture while helping to rescue flood victims in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on 10th May, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Adriano Machado
Former Olympic athletes also volunteered to help. Gymnast Daiane dos Santos, who competed in three Summer Games, and former Olympic swimmer Nicholas Santos, who holds the world record for 50-metres butterfly, joined the rescue operations.
The death toll from floods in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul rose to 147, local authorities said on Monday, while 127 people are still missing.
Heavy rains have caused several rivers and lakes in the region to hit their highest levels ever, while floods blocked streets and disrupted logistics, triggering a shortage of essential goods in certain areas.
– With PETER FRONTINI
