Brazil Hosts World's Largest Paralympic Student Event

"Besides being an opportunity to identify new talents for 2016, the greatest legacy of this event is a generation of young people who believe in sport as a way to exercise their citizenship."

More than1,000 Brazilian students are currently taking part in “Paralympic Scholar”, an event in Sao Paulo that aims to find athletes who can participate in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The event which started on Saturday and will continue until Tuesday (30 August), will see students aged 14-21 years from different parts of Brazil participate in various sports

The Opening Ceremony was led by the two-time Para-Canoe World Champion Fernando Fernandes who, just like some of the students, might have the chance to make his Paralympic debut at Rio 2016, when Para-Canoe makes its first appearance on the Paralympic programme.

"Besides being an opportunity to identify new talents for 2016, the greatest legacy of this event is a generation of young people who believe in sport as a way to exercise their citizenship,” said the president of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons.

Some of the main Brazilian athletes who will be competing in London 2012 in one year’s time such as the swimmers Clodoaldo Silva and Andre Brasil, the judo player Antonio Tenorio and the runner Terezinha Guilhermina are expected to show up throughout the event to support and inspire the new generation of Paralympians.