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Tres Unidos: For Amazonian children who grew up on the water with oars in their hands, a new hero and a new opportunity have spurred Olympic dreams.
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Brazilian Isaquias Queiroz dos Santos won a gold medal at the Japan Olympics in the C-1 1000 meters event.
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His success " he also won two silvers and a bronze at the Rio Olympics in 2016 " has inspired dozens of children to take up competitive canoeing in Tres Unidos, an indigenous community on the Amazonian river Cuieiras.
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He is such a great rower, he motivates me to row every day, said 17-year-old Tailo Pontes de Araujo. My dream is to take part in the Olympics and win medals.
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Tailo is one of around 60 youngsters as young as seven who have enrolled in a project called Canoagem Indigena, or Indigenous Canoeing, a partnership between the NGO Fundacao Amazonia Sustentavel and the Brazilian Canoeing Confederation.
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Many of the youngsters are indigenous and most of them are at home on the water, where they regularly fish and travel in family canoes.
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They are used to rowing slowly so as not to scare the fish, but coach Nivaldo Oliveira Cordeiro has taken them on and is training them in competitive techniques.
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They now have proper equipment and many are training up to four hours a day on the Cuieiras waters. They practically were born in indigenous canoes and that helps them with their balance and stamina, said coach Cordeiro.
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Their times are excellent. They are quick and have stamina and are getting better every day. Cordeiro believes Tailo in particular has a shot at emulating his hero, but there is no shortage of talent.
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The project has been going since 2019 and Queirozs recent triumph in Japan has prompted a new influx of young hopefuls. Tailo is a student who I think will be one of the strongest and he has the technique as well, Cordeiro said.
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After Queiroz won first place in the Tokyo Olympics, more and more kids are looking for me on Whatsapp and wanting to sign up. Our doors are open.
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Even in a region where everyone grew up with canoes people didnt know what canoeing was. Today its growing every day.
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