2016.08.20 Metro
A group of naturists have gone right back to basics and are staging their own naked Olympics as a tribute to the ancient Greeks.
The brave group are competing in a series of energetic contests every weekend to celebrate the Olympics taking place just nine miles away.
Organisers of the Abrico beach games are encouraging everyone to get involved – so long as they’re prepared to strip off.
They said: ‘There is no point worrying about what you look like when you bend over to pick up the ball, getting embarrassed when you fall over with your legs up in the air or bothering about your bits jiggling as you sprint for the finishing line.’
Games being played include football, beach volleyball, swimming, sprinting and race walking as well as non-Olympic sports such as tug of war and surfing.
Naturist Elisangela Santiago, who runs Rio’s Abrico Beach Naturist Association, said: ‘We decided we wanted to enjoy the Olympics in a novel and liberating way that paid tribute to the origins of the sport.
‘We have lined up a few fun games for people to get involved in. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t got an athletic bone in your body, the whole idea is to push out the boundaries and have plenty of legitimate fun while you happen to be naked.
‘Our games are all about encouraging people to feel good about themselves and promote a healthy and positive way of living freely and be at one with nature.’
The naturist beach is located in a remote area of Rio, which is hidden by mountains that line the coast. It is only nine miles from the Olympic city in Barra da Tijuca.
