Jogos Paralímpicos Rio 2016: memórias esportivas de atletas sul-rio-grandenses

The research aims to investigate how the sporting route of Rio Grande do Sul athletes who participated in the 2016 Paralympic Games, held in Rio de Janeiro. This research is supported by oral sources, newspaper reports and magazines, information from social networks, as well as bibliographical review on the subject. The results evidenced that the insertion in the sports practice of Rio Grande do Sul paralympic athletes happened from the adult life. The athletes were introduced to paralympic sport through their peers and faced difficulties in remaining in high-performance sport due to restricted sports incentives. We conclude that new public policies of incentive to the high-performance sport in the state of Rio Grande do Sul are necessary. Moreover, the increase in financial incentives will probably have an impact on the increase in the number of Paralympic athletes.