by Corona Man » Tue May 24, 2016 3:19 pm
In a little over 70 days Rio de Janeiro will have the honor of being the first South American city to host an Olympic Games when Rio 2016 hits Brazil’s second largest city in August 2016. These are the games of the 31st Olympiad.
10,500 of the world’s best athletes will arrive in the marvellous city with Olympic glory on their minds. Many will be seeking to win one or more of the 306 medals on offer while others will be at least hoping they can leave Rio with a personal best performance. Four distinct venue clusters will host 42 disciplines across 28 sports, including the highly anticipated debut of the rugby sevens and golf competitions. Of the 306 events 161 are for men, 136 are for women and 9 are mixed.
The Copacabana and Maracanã regions have long been favourites for locals and visitors alike while Barra and Deodoro are sure to provide plenty of fond memories at Games time. With the football preliminaries starting two days before the Opening Ceremony and archery ranking on 5 August, there is actually 19 days of competition.
The United States and China are expected to battle it out for top spot on the medal tally, while the locals will be cheering on their hometown heroes as they chase a top-10 finish. The Australian Team will be hoping the green and gold in the stands will spur them on as they push for a top-five finish.
Large sections of the city have been transformed and rejuvenated for the Games. The Rio Organising Committee have been hard at work ensuring the event is on track to be one of the most memorable on record and provide a great legacy for the residents. There won’t be much time to spare but all venues, press centers, transport and hotels are progressing well. Most importantly the Athletes’ Village is ahead of schedule and waiting the superstars of world sport to arrive from every corner of the globe.
It is anticipated that half a million tourists will come to Rio de Janeiro for the Games.
It is estimated that Australia will qualify a Team of around 440 athletes to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. This would make the 2016 Australian Olympic Team the second largest away Team in history, after Athens in 2004 (482).
Sports to be contested – Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Canoe/Kayaking, Cycling (BMX, Mountain, Road & Track), Diving, Equestrian, Fencing, Football (Soccer), Golf, Gymnastics, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Rugby (Sevens), Sailing, Shooting, Synchronized Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball (Traditional & Beach), Water Polo, Weightlifting & Wrestling (Freestyle & Greco Roman).
Australian athletes set to do well in mainly individual sports include – Annette Edmonson (Cycling Track), Minjee Lee (Golf), Sam Willoughby (Cycling BMX), Katharina Haecker (Judo), Emma Moffatt (Triathlon), Jack Bobridge (Cycling Track), Rohan Dennis (Cycling Road), Damon Kelly (Weightlifting), Melissa Wu (Diving), Kim Brennan (Rowing), Cate & Bronte Campbell (Swimming).
Kitty Chiller is the Australian Chef De Mission.
I am hopeful the honor of the Australian Flag bearer at the opening ceremony will be bestowed on the great Anna Meares.
Get set from some late nights, and early mornings. Not too mention the same 12 or 15 ads promoting upcoming channel 7 programmes on high rotation.
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