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Alcino Pereira, Special Olympics East Timor's lone athlete at the 2007 World Games, spends some time with Chinese schoolchildren in Shanghai.
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Six days a week, in the morning and in the afternoon, Alcino Pereira runs through the streets of Dili in the small country of East Timor. Among the citizens in the capital, Periera is a well-known figure as he rarely goes a day without lacing up his sneakers to run through this war-torn city.
His commitment to running and the passion that he has for the sport brought him to the attention of the Special Olympics, which has just opened a new Program in the country. Periera is the country's first athlete and their sole athlete at the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China.
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Alcino Pereira trains for his upcoming 5,000 and 10,000-meter races. |
While arriving in Shanghai and competing on a world stage is a daunting challenge for any athlete, Periera is well-versed in overcoming obstacles. Periera lost his father during the fighting in 1978 and his mother passed away shortly after. For most of his 36 years, he has lived with his sister and found a way to keep running even in the midst of a bloody civil war.
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Alcino Pereira is all smiles at the Opening Ceremony for the 2007 World Games.
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On 5 October Pereira will represent the new Special Olympics Program, and his country in the preliminaries of the 5,000 meters. Five days later, he's scheduled to compete in the 10,000 meters.
Days after coming to Shanghai, Pereira was taken on a shopping spree at a local sporting goods store in preparation for his competition. He was accompanied by his head coach, Afranio Amaral.
Asked to describe what it was like walking into the Opening Ceremonies, Pereira, who doesn't speak, simply raised his hands in the air and smiled. |
