Brazilian athletes target 2019 Doha Worlds

Brazilian athletes undergoing a week long ‘Shine’ training camp at the Aspire Academy have set their eyes firmly on achieving the qualification mark for the 2019 World Championships in Qatar.
With the Doha 2019 Worlds just two years away, many of the athletes could be returning to Qatar to represent their countries on the world’s biggest stage.
Of the seven who are here in Qatar, one of them, Gabriel Oliveira Constantino, missed the Rio Games qualification mark by a whisker but is determined to return to Qatar for the 2019 championship.
“I wish to qualify and compete in Qatar at the 2019 World Championships in Athletics, that is my goal. I want to gain as much knowledge as I can at the training camp,” said Constantino. The 22-year-old missed the Rio Games in his home city by a fraction of a second in his pet 110m hurdles.
The Brazilian clocked 13.50 secs to win the 110m hurdles title in June last year, which was 0.03sec off the Olympic qualifying time for the Rio Games.
“Yes, it was very frustrating to have missed out on the Games so narrowly and that too in your home town,” said Constantino, while speaking to journalists at the Indoor Training Stadium at Aspire Academy.
Constantino and six other talented Brazilian athletes, in the age group of 16 to 24, coming from disadvantaged backgrounds in Rio de Janeiro, are receiving specialised coaching and sport science testing during their stay in Qatar, under Shine, QOC’s Rio 2016 legacy project.
Qatar is supporting the athletes journeys towards becoming Brazil’s future Olympic Champions under QOC’s Rio 2016 legacy project which was established to leave a meaningful impact on the lives of Brazil’s talented young athletes.
Constantino’s has participated in many meetings in Europe and the United States, but he was amazed at the 'excellent' facilities at Aspire.
“We do not have such facilities in Brazil. It is an amazing and top notch training centre. I have never seen such an athlete friendly training facility anywhere else. The athletes are very comfortable training here (Aspire),” said the Brazilian with light glinting on the stones of his ear-studs.
Constantino said the Qatar trip has given him something positive to look beyond the Rio Games.
“I am not looking back at the past but looking ahead. I would like to compete at the Tokyo Olympics and win a medal. I am not letting the Rio disappointment dampen my ambitions,” he added.
Commenting on the Shine project, Secretary General of the QOC, Dr Thani Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, said in a statement: “Through Shine, we were determined to spread the Olympic spirit and give these young Brazilian athletes a sporting, educational and cultural experience that will have a deep impact on their future lives. The last time I saw them was when we welcomed them to Bayt Qatar, our hospitality house at the Rio 2016 Olympics. It is wonderful to see them here in Doha. I hope to welcome many of them back here again for the World Championships in 2019!”
The Shine project is a partnership between the QOC, Aspire Academy, Qatar Athletics Federation, Rio de Janeiro Athletics Federation and Futuro Olimpico, an NGO founded by Brazilian Olympic bronze medallist, Arnaldo de Oliveira.
 Oliveira, bronze medal winner at 1996 Olympic Games, who is a coach and physiotherapist for the athletes plans to apply his own learning to his coaching when he returns to Brazil.
Speaking about the experience,  Oliveira: “This is the best thing that these athletes have ever experienced and they are very thankful for it. The athletes have a lot to gain from training at Aspire Academy, from the facilities and the expertise. We’ll take the methodology that we learn here and apply it to our trainings in Brazil. The facilities here are really amazing. Unfortunately, we don’t have the same infrastructure in Brazil so we’ll utilise our experience and take our learnings back to Brazil”.
The Shine training camp will continue until February 25.