While most family members weren’t able to make the trip to the Tokyo Paralympics due to Covid-19 restrictions, Brazilian table tennis player Lethicia Rodrigues Lacerda and archer Jane Karla Gogel are an exception.
The pair is the only mother-daughter duo competing at the Tokyo Games.
Rodrigues Lacerda, who is making her Paralympic debut in Tokyo, said she has appreciated getting tips from her mother.
“It’s very special to be with my mum here,” the 18-year-old told Olympic Information Service. “We are both able to participate and share our emotions. Everything is very magical.”
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Gogel, meanwhile, is making her fourth Paralympic appearance in Tokyo. She competed in table tennis at the 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Games before making the switch to archery ahead of the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Brazil’s Andrey Muniz de Castro (L) and Jane Karla Gogel compete against Turkey during the mixed team compound open qualifier of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games at the Sambodromo in Rio de Janeiro on September 12, 2016. / AFP / YASUYOSHI CHIBA (Photo credit should read YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
In her first table tennis match of the tournament, Rodrigues Lacerda lost 0-3 to Norway’s Aida Dahlen, an opponent her mother competed against multiple times before making the switch to archery. Next up, Rodrigues Lacerda will face China’s Huang Wenjuan.
The women’s archery competition begins later this week.
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How to watch the Tokyo Paralympics
NBC will provide over 1,200 hours of Paralympic coverage. Here are some highlights:
