A multi purpose area built specifically for the Rio Carnival where samba schools parade competitively each year attracting many thousands of Brazilians and foreign tourists. The structures of the Sambódromo were designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer, and represent his first major work after the end of his exile and the Brazilian dictatorship of 1964–1985 (47). For the 2016 Games, the venue hosted archery and the athletics marathon event. The archery champions’ story starts at age 3 old during one of Rio’s unfortunately common, car hijackings. Sports Illustrated Writes (paraphrased), Two gunmen invaded his fathers car while he was stopped at a red light with his three-year-old son, Vinícius, in the backseat. No shots were fired, but the D’Almeidas were held captive for two hours before police rescued them and arrested the carjackers. The family left the city for the refuge of Maricá, a sleepy coastal town 30 miles away. In 2010 soon after Vincius had turned 12, the Brazilian Archery Confederation set up a training center in Maricá (using funds earmarked after Rio won the Olympic bid). The D’Almeidas enrolled their son in a free children’s program. By 15, Marcus Vinícius was competing internationally, and at 16, in 2014, he broke through becoming the youngest archer to reach a World Cup final, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Soon D’Almeida was ranked sixth in the world. Because Rio’s successful bid led to that permanent training site in Maricá, D’Almeida is a creation of these Olympics. And of that carjacking 15 years ago, he doesn’t remember a thing: “I only know that what happened that day changed my life.” (10)
