Since June began, the city government of Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, the host city of the 2016 Summer Games, has organized workshops with Olympic and Paralympic athletes to encourage residents to engage in sports, in the run-up to the Paris Summer Olympics Games.
Born with cerebral palsy, 16-year-old Brazilian table tennis player Sophia Kelmer always had a passion for sports. Her determination and talent now have her with high hopes of bringing home a medal from her Paralympic debut this summer in Paris.
"I'm very happy to represent my country and do what I love most, which is playing table tennis. Being able to compete in the Paralympics as the youngest member of the women's delegation is an incredibly emotional experience," Kelmer said.
Ranked seventh in the world in her "Class 8" division, Kelmer is a rising star who is participating in a weekly workshop organized by Rio de Janeiro's City Hall, which involves people into the swing of the upcoming Paris Games and encourages them to participate in the International Olympic Committee's 'Let's Move" campaign.
"The idea was to motivate people to practice sports during their lunch break. So, everyone can participate and reflect on whether or not they are engaging in enough physical activity, and think about their life in terms of sports and health, and also get into the spirit of the Olympic Games," said Anna Laura Secco, secretary of the Rio Municipal Sports.
With training equipment on display for different Olympic sports each week, members of the general public have the opportunity to interact with top Brazilian athletes to learn some new skills and begin to dream about what Brazil's team might accomplish in the coming weeks.
Brazil is heading to Paris with the goal of surpassing the 21 Olympic and 72 Paralympic medals won in Tokyo - both are records.
But for this football worshiping nation, no medals will come from Brazilian men's football this time around. The repeat 2016 and 2020 champions failed to even qualify, something that hasn't happened since 2004.
Excitement for this year's Olympics does seem to be on the rise among local residents, perhaps sparked in part by nostalgia for the 2016 Olympic Games that took place in their city.
"Since then we've been evolving and of course we can go further as I always say: to infinity and beyond," said Kelmer.
The initiative, dubbed "Sports Workshop - Road to Paris," will wrap up on the eve of the Olympics, which kick off on July 26 in Paris.
Rio hosts "Let's Move" sports campaign in run-up to Summer Games in Paris
Rio hosts "Let's Move" sports campaign in run-up to Summer Games in Paris
