Rio 2016 Olympics Progress Impressive, Says IOC in Change of Tone

By
Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, prepares to take a photo with workers as IOC Coordination Commission head Nawal El Moutawakel (bottom L) watches during a visit to the Rio 2016 Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro September 30, 2014.
RIO DE JANEIRO: In a dramatic change of tone Olympic officials said on Wednesday they were impressed by progress being made in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the 2016 Games, just months after the preparations were described by one member as “the worst” ever.

After a three-day visit around sites and venues, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that although the schedule was still tight and accommodation remained a challenge, core projects were now moving quickly.

‘Part of history’ The committee did not comment on legal action taken against the Olympic golf course, which could force last-minute changes to the design. “We leave reassured by the huge progress that has been made in the last few months,” Nawal El Moutawakel, chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission, told reporters in Rio de Janeiro.

“What was happening back in March is part of history,” she added. The comments reflect a turnaround from the last visit, when the IOC expressed alarm at the amount of planning and budget work that remained to be done, urging more collaboration between different layers of government.

In April, IOC Vice President John Coates described the preparations for Rio 2016 as “the worst that I've experienced.” Such criticism is unprecedented from the IOC, which tends to put on a positive face in public.

Fresh dynamism: In an interview with Reuters earlier this month, however, IOC President Thomas Bach said organizers in Rio had rediscovered their dynamism, taking confidence from the successful hosting of the soccer World Cup this year. At the press conference on Wednesday, officials would not go into details about what exactly had changed on the ground to result in such a dramatic turnaround.

The IOC visited the Olympic village, golf course and Olympic park over the past three days. They also received a report on progress at the Deodoro Sporting complex, which will host 11 sports including mountain biking and kayaking.

Deodoro was the last site to break ground and had come under criticism for slow progress, but the IOC said the report they received was reassuring. On Tuesday Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, said in a speech at the Olympic park that the IOC visit, which she accompanied, had gone well.

We will prove, as we did with the World Cup, that we can put on the Olympics of all Olympics,” recycling the slogan the government used to describe Brazil's World Cup.

Legal tangle: The Olympic golf course has been one headache for local organizers, with the city and developers entangled in legal action over the design of the course. A judge has asked if the design of the course could be altered to alleviate environmental concerns. A decision will be made in the next month on what those changes will involve.

Major alterations could delay the project and increase costs as well as reduce the quality of the course.
The IOC declined to answer questions on the process, saying it was for the city organizers to deal with and that they had been impressed by the course during their visit.

Officials said that accommodation remained a challenge but the 68 new hotels under construction were on track. “We are in that critical phase and a lot will have to be done,” said Christophe Dubi, Olympic Games executive director for the IOC.

SOURCE: voanews.com
Gidabuday Sports Tourism Foundation is a Non Profit Organization based in Arusha. It's main purpose is to promote, sensitize and enforce education through sports, as well as to search and develop new talents for sports from young people from marginalized communities all over the country.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular

GIDABUDAY KUHAMASISHA UJENZI WA KIJIJI CHA MICHEZO TANZANIA LENYE JINA YA MWANARIADHA MKONGWE BW.JOHN STEPHEN AKHWARI

By
Image
Kutoka kushoto ni Rogath John Stephen ,mwanariadha wa kimataifa na mtoto wa mwanariadha maarufu duniani Bw. John Stephen Akhwari ,Phaustin Baha Sulle mshindi wa medali ya fedha katika nusu marathon na Mwanaharakati wa michezo Tanzania Bw. Wilhelm Gidabuday.   ........................................ By Adam Ihucha and Gadiel Urio -Arusha.   Tanzania is set to have a national sports training Village, thanks to an initiative by one of its renowned athletic. The sports academy will be named after the John Stephen Akhwari’, the probably forgotten first Tanzanian athletic to participate in 1968 summer Olympics in Mexico. The World renowned athletic, Wilhelm Gidabuday, who happened to be a Tanzanian is behind the proposed Tsh 1 billion athletic training village, the first of its kind in the country. Mr Gidabuday, and a gifted Arusha based journalist and blogger, Gadiel Urio are currently working extra time to prepare nearly 700km marathon relay in a...
Read more

Rio Olympics: Brazil win men's volleyball gold, GB's Joyce takes boxing silver – as it happened

By
Image
Just look at his face: Bruno Mossa de Rezende (left) after Brazil claimed gold in the men’s volleyball final. Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images Brazil did not win a lot of medals; but Brazil hosted the first ever Summer Olympic Games in South America, western countries criticized all efforts put up by South American supper power but they did not bother listening instead they did all they could and today they finished strong. Thanks Rio, thanks Brazil. We hope that some day African Continent will rewrite history to host the first ever Summer Olympic Games. www.gidabuday.blogsports.com wishes all Olympic travelers a safe flight out bounding to their home countries. See you in Tokyo Olympics 2020, god bless Olympics Games. By Wilhelm Francis Gidabuday @gidabudays       
Read more

Olympics 2016: Usain Bolt completes sprint double, Jade Jones retains taekwondo title

By
Image
Bolt's 19.78 seconds is his slowest winning time in an Olympic 200m final Usain Bolt completed a Rio 2016 sprint double by winning the 200m as Jade Jones took Great Britain's gold-medal tally to 22 with taekwondo success. Bolt's eighth Olympic title came in a time of 19.78 seconds, and the Ja maican has one final chance to win gold in Friday's 4x100m relay final. Jones, meanwhile, beat Eva Calvo Gomez to win taekwondo's -57kg division. With three days remaining, Britain are just nine medals short of the  record  65 they secured in London four years ago. They got off to a great start on day 13 as Alistair Brownlee and brother Jonny won gold and silver respectively in the triathlon, and Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark triumphed in the sailing. Elsewhere, Liam Heath and Jon Schofield  won silver  in the men's 200m kayak double, and Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge  took bronze  in badminton's men's doubles. Nicola Adams  reached the women...
Read more

Rio Olympics: Swimmer Lochte apologises for 'robbery' saga

By
Image
Ryan Lochte's claims prompted a spoof poster to be displayed at the athletics stadium US swimmer Ryan Lochte has apologised for his behaviour in Rio and "for not being more careful and candid". The gold medallist had claimed that he and a group of fellow US swimmers had been robbed at a petrol station. But CCTV footage contradicted that story, showing the men had vandalised the petrol station after partying. Mr Lochte  tweeted : "I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that I am sorry." He said he had waited to issue the statement until it was clear that his teammates would be returning to the US. Rio's Mayor, Eduardo Paes, accepted the Americans' apologies: "I confess that my only emotion towards them is pity and contempt," he said. "It's a shame that they're such weak characters, that they have such personality flaws and it's up to the American Olympic Committee to sort it o...
Read more