After a decade Brazilian athletics has returned home. The Ícaro de Castro Mello Stadium, in the Constâncio Vaz Guimarães Sports Complex in São Paulo (Brazil), reopened recently following a 360-degree revitalization work carried out.
The carpet-like Mondo track installed in the stadium is crème de la crème (a prefabricated, synthetic rubber athletics surface engineered by the Italian company Mondo).
‘Temple of Sport’
‘cbat.org.br’ stated that the Ícaro de Castro Mello Stadium is regarded as a ‘Temple of Sport’ in Brazil and the facility is also known by its location Ibirapuera (a massive, 158-hectare urban park located in the heart of São Paulo, Brazil). The Ícaro de Castro Mello Stadium now boasts the only nine-lane track in Latin America with Class 1 certification (the highest) from the World Athletics.
The Ícaro de Castro Mello Stadium is a stadium in São Paulo, Brazil, located near the Ibirapuera Park. It has a capacity to accommodate13,000 people.
The Constâncio Vaz Guimarães Sports Complex, widely known as the Ibirapuera Complex, is a major public sports and entertainment facility in São Paulo, Brazil. Spanning over 95,000 square meters it houses the multiple arenas for athletics, swimming and martial arts and is currently undergoing plans for modernization.
Monaco-based the World Athletics (WA), formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and the International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics covering track and field, cross country running, road running, race walking, mountain running, and ultra running.
Comprehensive Refurbishment
‘cbat.org.br’ further stated that in addition to the high-performance track, which gained an extra lane, the stadium also features a warm-up area. The Ícaro de Castro Mello Stadium comprehensive refurbishment work carried out comprises elements of modernist architecture (an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century) which includes the stands with the installation of 11,000 seats and new glass railings. Two new video screens and new lightings have been installed. Spaces such as the locker rooms, the bathrooms, the gym areas, the physiotherapy areas, and the Press areas were also upgraded. The stadium has not hosted an official athletics competition since 2015.
Revitalization Exercise
The modernization of the Ícaro de Castro Mello Stadium track was carried out by the Government of the State of São Paulo in a partnership between the Housing and Urban Development Company (CDHU) and the Secretariat of Sports. PlayPiso (a prominent Brazilian manufacturer and supplier of sports and athletic flooring) participated in the revitalization exercise as the supplier and installer of the track.
‘Iconic Track’
Exulted Wlamir Motta Campos, President, Board of Directors of the Brazilian Athletics Confederation (CBAt – the national governing body for the sport of athletics in Brazil), “The Ícaro de Castro Mello track is iconic, emblematic. It’s a temple of Brazilian athletics. Besides the excellent Mondo track (a premium, prefabricated synthetic athletics surface produced by the Italian company Mondo) the entire stadium infrastructure has been lent a spiffy touch in a very well-thought-out way. At Ibirapuera, we have some of the best memories in the history of our sport. Now, we hope the facility will once again become the main stage for Brazilian athletics. I am sure that we will host major national and international events.”
Ibirapuera Velodrome
In 1963, the Ibirapuera Velodrome (it was an outdoor cycling track located in São Paulo, Brazil) hosted the cycling competitions of the Pan American Games in São Paulo while the athletics events were held at the 40,199-capacity Pacaembu Stadium (in São Paulo) track. It wasn’t until 1968 that the velodrome also became the home of athletics. Three years earlier, in 1965, the engineer-architect Ícaro de Castro Mello did a redesign of the space including the construction of the athletics track and the expansion of the stands.
Major Athletics Acts
As early as the late 1960s the Ibirapuera athletics stadium (read Ícaro de Castro Mello) began hosting competitions. But it was in the mid-1980s that it became a stage for high-level international athletics competitions.
Breeding Ground
But the Ícaro de Castro Mello wasn’t just a place for the athlete stars. It was also a breeding ground for the young talents who honed their skills in the arena eventually reaching the highest level of world athletics. The Brazilian retired track and field athlete (Olympic champion) Maurren Maggi trained in the venue. The pole vaulter Maggi left her hometown of São Carlos to live in the Ibirapuera dormitories in 1994 and train at the Ícaro de Castro Mello until her retirement from the sport in 2016.
‘Greatest Sporting Hub’
Maintained Maggi, “The Ícaro de Castro Mello is the greatest sporting hub we’ve had in Brazil. Every time I stepped into Ibirapuera to compete it was a special moment for me.”
Emblematic Athletic Track
The two-time world pole vault champion Fabiana Murer (retired Brazilian pole vaulter) also developed her skills at the Ícaro de Castro Mello track – “It was at Ibirapuera where I trained and went on to become champion of the Pan American Games in 2007 and also got counted as a member of the pole vaulting elite club when I jumped 4.80 m, a South American record, at the 2008 Troféu Brasil (major national sporting competitions in Brazil).”
Best-in-world Track
Murer highlighted the quality of the new track – “It’s Mondo, the best in the world, built-to-last, a soft track which will show the desired outcome. The track is high so it’s closer to the stands. The fans will be at an up-close distance from the athletes.”
Mondo Track
The XLV Loterias Caixa Interclubes Brazil Athletics Trophy (the premier interclub athletics competition in Brazil) will be held at the Ícaro de Castro Mello from July 23rd-26th and Murer stated that the young lot of athletes will compete for the first time and will experience the crème de la crème Mondo track.”
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