They give up the Olympic dream to help those affected by the tragic flood in Brazil

In Lucerne, Switzerland, from May 19 to 21, the Pre-Olympic Rowing Championship will be held and will be the last chance for athletes to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Brazilians Evaldo Becker, Alef Fontoura, Daniel Lima and Piedro Tuchtenhagen should have been there, but solidarity outweighed the dream of being in the French capital.

The state of Rio Grande do Sul is going through one of the worst moments in its history due to the floods that caused the death of 108 people and left a hundred people missing. Given the seriousness of the situation, the paddlers decided to stay in Brazil and collaborate both in the rescue of people and animals.

“Piedro and I decided not to go to the Pre-Olympic Games with our families and friends in the midst of this chaos,” said Becker, representative of the Flamengo club, in statements reproduced by the Brazilian Rowing Confederation.

“In the midst of the calamity that Rio Grande do Sul is experiencing, the athletes of the Brazilian National Rowing Team gave up competing in the Olympic Qualifying to help rescue the victims of the floods,” said the Brazilian Rowing Confederation in a statement.

Fontoura (Pinheiros), another rower who collaborates in the rescue and collection of donations at the Grêmio Náutico União headquarters (Lima and Tuchtenhagen belong to this club), asked for help: “We have guides and material to rescue more people, but for now we don’t have a boat to continue our work.”

The floods caused by the unprecedented rains that have hit the state of Rio Grande do Sul for a week have left more than one and a half million people affected and forced the suspension of sports activities, such as the soccer games that were due to be played by Gremio and Internacional de Porto Alegre. Many athletes have come together as volunteers to help at this tragic time