Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, Sports complex in Barra da Tijuca, Brazil
The Maria Lenk Aquatic Center is a sports facility in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, built around three swimming pools, one of which is dedicated to Olympic diving. The complex also has training areas for synchronized swimming and water polo, making it one of the most complete aquatic facilities in the country.
The facility opened in 2007 as a training and competition site for the Pan American Games held in Rio de Janeiro that same year. Nine years later, it became a main venue during the 2016 Olympic Games.
The center is named after Maria Lenk, the first South American woman to swim at the Olympic Games. Her name on the building serves as a daily reminder of how women's sport in Brazil has changed over the decades.
The center sits in Barra da Tijuca, a neighborhood on the western edge of Rio de Janeiro that is easier to reach by car or bus than on foot. Checking whether a competition or public event is scheduled before your visit will help you make the most of the trip.
In 2018, the Brazilian Olympic Committee moved its headquarters into the complex, which means that the building now houses both active athletes training in the water and the administrators who oversee the country's Olympic program. Few sports venues in the world serve this dual role at the same time.
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