Technical Visit in Rio
Weightlifting Technical Delegate for Rio 2016, Mr. Attila Adamfi, IWF Director General and Ms. Lilla Rozgonyi, Communication and Marketing Director and Ms. Timea Horvath Development and Education Manager conducted Technical Visits before the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
The city of Rio de Janeiro is still similar to a big construction however the infrastructural improvements became visible and usable in the Olympic City. The new terminal of the Galeao International Airport was opened recently which nearly doubles the capacity of the airport.
The city government confirmed that the Metro Line 4 which joins Copacabana and Ipanema with the Olympic Centre Barra zone will operate from 1st August.
During the Technical Visit the IWF staff has explored Riocentro venue which will be the home of 4 sports (table tennis, boxing and badminton besides weightlifting). In each pavilion has been already started the installation of the spectators tribune and back of house offices. Furthermore in the weightlifting hall the competition stage is in its place and already waiting for the weights and competitors.
The IWF representatives had several meetings with the different departments of the Organizing Committee coordinated by Mr. Pedro Meloni, Weightlifting Sport Manager. Among others the Detailed Competition Activity Schedule, the transport schedule and an initiation were discussed. As an initiative in the Common Domain of the 4 sports there will be a so called spectator experience zone where the spectators will have the possibility to try out the 4 different sports on a huge area.
The only serious concern is the status of the Hotel in which the technical officials of different sports will be accommodated. However the IWF delegates had personal meetings with the Hotel representatives and they reassured that everything will be ready for July.
According to the official statistics the infection of Zika virus is significantly reducing and even more during the winter months, especially in August. It is important to mention that the IWF staff has not met any mosquitoes.
