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Olympic Games supplier opens pop-up gym to help Rio’s disadvantaged communities
The official gym equipment supplier to the Olympic Games has launched a pop-up open-air fitness centre on Rio’s Ipanema Beach as part of its social campaign ‘Let’s Move for Rio’.
Casa Technogym has been created by Italian company Technogym, allowing locals and visitors of the Brazilian city the opportunity to train like an Olympic athlete and take part in group training activities. Those who use the facilities will be contributing to the firm’s social campaign.
Some of the equipment provided to the Olympic training facilities will be donated to Rio following the Games. Using Technogym’s digital platform – mywellness cloud – athletes and fitness enthusiasts worldwide can measure their physical exercise – both on the equipment and using the free Technogym mobile app – transforming moves into equipment. Technogym will donate equipment to 22 public gyms in Rio’s most disadvantaged communities.
The Technogym app measures movement using MOVEs, a unit of measurement of a movement. For each 75,000 MOVEs, Technogym will donate one piece of equipment. As of 9 August, 461 pieces of equipment had been earmarked for donation. The campaign ends on 21 August.
In Rio, Technogym has equipped 15 centres for athletes to train in before and during the Rio 2016 Games. The main training centre, which is approximately 2,000 sq m, is at the Olympic Village in Barra da Tijuca. The other 14 training facilities are located in competition venues and have been specifically designed for the athletic needs of the different disciplines.
Around 1,200 pieces of equipment are available to the 10,500 athletes from 205 different countries and performing in 42 different disciplines. Technogym has also provided a team of 50 professional trainers to support the athletes. Rio 2016 is the sixth time that Technogym has been appointed the official supplier of the Olympic Games.
Nerio Alessandri, Technogym president and founder, said Rio 2016 will “represent a unique social opportunity to promote wellness in Brazil and in the whole of Latin America and get increasing numbers of people interested in regular physical exercise.”