{"id":32031,"date":"2016-08-20T10:02:41","date_gmt":"2016-08-20T13:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=32031"},"modified":"2016-08-21T12:55:42","modified_gmt":"2016-08-21T15:55:42","slug":"rios-hometown-olympians-showcase-favelas-athletic-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=32031","title":{"rendered":"Rio’s Hometown Olympians Showcase Favelas’ Athletic Potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

When Rafaela Silva<\/a> threw her hands into the air to celebrate\u00a0her victory in the Olympic<\/a> gold-medal match of\u00a0women’s judo, residents, athletes and coaches throughout Rio’s favelas celebrated with her.<\/p>\n

Much\u00a0has already been written<\/a> about 24-year-old\u00a0Rafaela\u00a0and what her victory represents for Brazil, the city of Rio, and female athletes across the country<\/a>. Her high-profile achievement\u00a0has opened a dialogue<\/a> about\u00a0how Rafaela’s\u00a0identity\u2013as a black woman born and raised\u00a0in City of God<\/a>, one of the city\u2019s most well-known favelas\u2013defies Brazil’s\u00a0historic power structures<\/a>, especially important in the light of the\u00a0racist attacks directed against her<\/a> on social media after she was disqualified from the 2012 London Games. Rafaela’s\u00a0decision to publicly disclose her relationship with her girlfriend<\/a> just days after her victory added another level of identity politics to what was already a significant accomplishment<\/a>\u00a0in raising the profile of underrepresented and marginalized groups in Brazil.<\/p>\n

But, while Rafaela received the most media attention, she wasn’t\u00a0the only athlete from Rio\u2019s favelas competing in these Olympics. The hometown team included a number of athletes across a diverse range of sports who have lived and trained in favelas.<\/p>\n

The Olympics and previous mega-events<\/a> have had catastrophic effects for\u00a0many favela residents, from forced evictions<\/a> to reduced access to\u00a0transportation<\/a> and deadly police violence<\/a>. Yet the opportunity to represent their communities in front of a national audience as well as\u00a0millions of viewers around the world, provided a chance for Rio’s\u00a0athletes\u00a0to showcase another example of positive value<\/a>\u00a0coming from favelas and their residents.<\/p>\n

Patrick Borges and Michel Louren\u00e7o – Boxing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Patrick and Michel grew up in Vidigal<\/a>\u00a0in the South Zone<\/a>, where they began their training at the community’s\u00a0Instituto Todos na Luta<\/a>\u00a0(All in the Fight Institute) boxing gym\u2013Michel at 10 years old and Patrick at age 13. Their trainer, the founder of Todos na Luta<\/a>, Raff Giglio, describes\u00a0the two young athletes as a positive example for youth in their community.<\/p>\n

“I’ve seen so many comments on Facebook<\/a> in the last few days, everyone saying, ‘you are the pride of the community,'” he says, smiling. “Everyone here says they are a source of pride for our community. They’re an example that it’s possible to make it.”<\/p>\n