Seminar held to train Brazilian officials to manage Rio 2016 arrivals

A customs seminar was arranged to train Brazilian officials in wake of preparations for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The objective of the three-day seminar was to teach officials to receive about 10,500 athletes and supporting officials. Several guests who has the experience of such events attended the seminar. Canadian Customs Attache in Brazil, Mark Bond explained his experience of hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games and attache of Russian embassy in Brazil outlined her countries experience to deal issues during Sochi 2014.

The customs officials will have to face several thousands fans and tourists expected to arrive Brazil during the games along with professionals such as press and doping control. A customs official Lyne Goodwin from the UK described the experience of  Heathrow Airport how it dealt with its busiest period of London 2012 when No. of arrivals was 126,000. The officials who attended the seminar include general coordinator of international relations at the Inland Revenue Service Antonio Flavio Araujo along with adviser to the office of the Undersecretary of Customs and International Relations of the IRS, Ronaldo Medina and Joel Benin who is the head of the special advisory coordination of major sporting events of the Ministry of Sports.

Medina said this is the first time that an event has been conducted with foreigners who has the experience of managing major sporting events. He added the custom sector of the IRS is certainly facing a big challenge in the form of a big event. He further said they have arranged the Pan American Games in Rio in 2007 and the world cup last year which are noting as compared to Olympic and Paralympic Games in complexity. 

Israel Looks First European Games as Stage of Preparation of Olympics

The first European Games are going to start in Baku from June 12-28 featuring more than 6,000 athletes from 50 nations participating in 20 sports which excites secretary general Gili Lustig of Israel Olympic Committee. Lustig is working for the preparations of the event. Israel will participate in it with its largest ever delegation of 142 athletes. Lustig thinks this tournament can give invaluable experience to athletes of Israel for Rio Olympics.

He said this offers real rehearsal for the events like judo and gymnastics of Rio.He presented example of yarden Gerbi who is former world champion but has never participated in events of this kind. Lustig is focusing on the group of athletes who are preparing for the qualification of Rio. Athletes can either get ranking points in games like judo and taekwondo as part of qualification process while participants of table tennis, shooting and triathlon can secure place in Rio.

If participants of swimming and athletics events set the Olympic qualifying time standards then they can grab a spot in the Olympics. European Championships and European Games will share this year’s winners which adds to the importance of these events. Organizers of Baku have provided facilities of Olympic standards to ensure first ever European Games end in success. Many of Israel’s athletes will have varied hopes in the competition but most of them will be considering it as mile stone in the way of Olympics.

Brazil Football Olympic Team Hires Coach Dunga Again

Brazilian Olympic football team will work under the coaching of Dunga again on home ground at Rio Olympics 2016. Dunga will replace coach Alexandre Gallo to lead Brazil to win gold in Olympic football for the second time. Brazil could only win a bronze in Beijing under the current coach’s combined senior job and the Olympics duties in 2008. Brazil reached the final of London Olympics under Mano Menezes in the presence of star players like Neymar, Thiago Silva and Oscar but they were defeated by Mexico.

Gallo was appointed coach of Under-20 team of Brazil for next year’s Olympic games. Gallo was removed from national set up because he could lead the youth side of Brazil to South American Youth Football Championship’s fourth place only earlier this year. Dunga was given the job for senior team in July last year after Brazil had disastrous world cup at home ground. Dunga has won all of his games since resuming the duty as coach. 

Tokyo Olympics Invite Applications for the Addition of New Sports

Officials of Olympics have started a procedure where organizations of the sports of the world can apply to include new sport events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which can result in adding and dropping of some games. The International Olympic Committee initially opened an application period on Monday for the addition of new sports to Tokyo Olympics. It has been controversial matter for the IOC to finalize the list of Olympic sports for many years. The committee decided to review the list of 26 Olympic sports after the London 2012 and imposed a cap of 28.

Wrestling was initially dropped but then added again on an IOC vote because there was no sport to replace with it while squash and baseball/softball were not included in the final shortlist. The IOC however decided to review the limit of 28 games in December and new sports are being considered to be added. The Tokyo organizing committee will announce a shortlist on June 22 of the applications of 33 international sports bodies submitted before 8 June. It is expected, the governing body will not make its final decision until its meeting in August 2016 ahead of Rio Olympics. 

Sports fans and contenders want cricket, cue sports, roller skating, baseball/softball, climbing, karate, squash, skateboarding and surfing to be included in the already existing sports list for Tokyo Olympics. There is more chance to include those games which are popular among the host nation of 2020 Olympics. The Rio Olympics were also initially missing a couple of games which were added later on which include golf, rugby sevens and kitesurfing. The addition of new sports to Rio Olympics and Tokyo Olympics will boost the motto and values of Olympics attracting more fans to the world of sports.

Cheyenne Cousineau Hopes for Olympics after Earning All American Award

Cheyenne Cousineau does not know her score at the NCAA championships’ platform diving even after several weeks and she knows only she has secured third place at All-America honors. She said she was concentrating on the procedure of her dives because her coach demanded to focus on how she was performing and not on the result. A sports psychiatrist was helping Cousineau to sharpen her focus. She also told a University Miami teamfellow that she remained under the water intentionally because she did not want to hear the announced score. She adopted the same technique at the NCAA meet.

Cousineau scored 318.05 points at NCAA finals. Cousineau said on this she was able to do some good dives as she focused on some key points taught by her coach and she is happy to secure third place. Cousineau has earned All-America status second time because she finished fourth in 2013. Her college career has finished but she will continue to dive to chase her dream of playing 2016 Olympics with trials starting in Russia in a few weeks.

Cousineau wants to participate in synchronized diving at Olympics but she is not finding a partner at the moment. She said on this, 10-meter synchronized diving has been a problem in the U.S. last year because they were trying to find a match. She added she was really anxious about it but a synchro camp is coming up where she can hopefully find a partner. Cousineau’s performance at NCAA finals should make her thinking she can perform not only in synchronized diving in Olympics.

Jessica Springsteen Set to Become U.S. Olympics Equestrian Team Member

Jessica Springsteen who is daughter of famous singer Bruce Springsteen is looking favorite to find a place in the U.S. Olympics equestrian team. Jessica who is second child of Bruce Springsteen participated in the fifteen-city Global Champions Tour in Madrid last Friday which is the third stop of the International Horse Jumping Contest. Jessica secured sixth place in the first round of the contest in Madrid with her horse Carolina 31. She also won another important contest  Spy Coast Farm speed class at the Winter Equestrian Festival of Florida back in February.

Springsteen who is graduate of Duke University started riding since age 5 and began to take part in horse shows at age 15. She took part in 2012 Olympics trials but could not secure place in the team. She said about 2012 trials that she participated just as a test. There were many signs after it that she is serious for the Rio Olympics where she also bought a London Olympics gold medal winning horse.

2016 Olympics are going to start in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from August 5 to August 21. Sports fans are waiting keenly for the event. Athletes from different nations will participate in numerous categories of sports. Sports lovers like to support their favorite players making their presence sure in the ground. Olympics fanatics who want to enjoy the tournament live stay in touch with this blog for more Olympics news and updates. 

Beijing Medalist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Whitby Eyes Rio Olympics

Most Canadians know acme of Lopes-Schliep’s career. She astonished the nation by winning a bronze in the 100 meter hurdles, which was first track-and-field medal of the country in a dozen years, at 2008 Beijing Olympics. Bronze medal was result of training and concentration of many years. She still dreams the Olympics at 32 and being mother of two young daughters. She has maintained her shape amazingly but her coach is away at a distance of 22 hour drive with the non-availability of proper track nearby which makes the task difficult. She said if she has tracks and indoors for training, then there is possibility of Rio participating.

She added if she jumps and trains again she would feel as she did it before provided she has good stretch and she knows how to hurdle. She said further if she organizes here then it can become a reality. Lopes-Schliep will not be able to take part in Pan Am Games in Toronto this summer to resume his athletic career. Participation in such a high level contest in her homeland would have been loved by her but she is busy in her personal life where his brother’s wedding is coming in March and she has to look after her two younger daughters.

The medalist further explained she is talking to her agent to see if there is anything competing for her involvement but she added she has not been able to get indoor practice so it will be difficult. The medal winner further said that she has trained a lot before so her body can jump back to it but for the level she wants to attain, she wants to try her best and does not want to perform poorly. She has belief in herself regardless how Rio evolves. She said God has the knowledge of the best and she is doing what she can and the way will be shown according to the situation. 

Opening Ceremony of Olympics 2016 to Take Place at Maracana Stadium

Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro will see the commencement of the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics at its ground on the evening of Friday 5 August begininng at 20:00 BRT (UTC-3). Ceremony will constitute the formal opening of the international event where welcoming speeches will be delivered and flags will be hoisted along with parade of athletes combining with the display of culture of host nation as granted by the Olympic Charter.

A big plan was launched for the reconstruction of the Maracana Stadium to host 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Two-tier configuration of the original seating arrangement of bowl was changed to one-tier seating bowl. The original roof of the stadium was in concrete which was replaced with polytetrafluoroethylene coated fiberglass tensioned membrane. 95% seats of the seats inside the stadium are covered by the new roof unlike the earlier design.

Olympic Wrestler Bilyal Makhov Eyes Rio Olympics and Signs with UFC

Olympic bronze medalist wrestler Bilyal Makhov still eyes on 2016 Olympics gold medal but he has set another objective to win the UFC heavyweight title. Makhov signed with UFC despite he has no MMA fighting experience. First priority of Makhov is to win gold medal at Rio Olympics in either freestyle or Greco-Roman wrestling and the 27-year-old will concentrate on MMA after that. Murat Keshtov who is trainer of Makhov said the wrestler can win the UFC heavyweight championship after half year of training. Keshtov said if he works six months with him, Russia can be owner of UFC heavyweight belt.

Makhov has won freestyle wrestling world championship three times. He lives in the area where he saw the flourishing of MMA fighters. He has also worked with ex UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski which increaed his interest in the sport. He said on this he always likes to challenge himself. He presented as an example that he decided to switch to Greco-Roman style after successful career of freestyle wrestling and he would focus on MMA afterwards. The Olympic medalist said he has focused on hard work, time and attention in his career and if he can work in the same way In MMA then he can achieve highest level of success in the sport.

Wrsetling is liked and played all over the world. Olympics has two wrestling categories for men Greco-Roman Style and Freestyle. Rio Olympics wrestling competitions will take place at Hall 3 of Olympic Training Center in Barra da Tijuca from 14 to 21 August. Sports fans who want to get updates on Olympic wrestling should remain connected with this blog for fresh information.

Hotel Bookings Continue in Rio de Janeiro for 2016 Olympics

A process of hotels’ bookings has started in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics, with the option of other places to stay being depended upon to make sure the capacity for fans. Around 380,000 visitors from other countries are expected to come in the city for the Olympic Games, which will take place in August 2016. The International Olympic Committee demanding at least 40,000 hotel rooms for clients and guests, various supporters are expected to stay in guesthouses.

Rio had exceeded its lodging target, with the opening of new hotels up to an additional 15,000 rooms since 2010, said the Brazilian Hotel Industry Association (ABIH). The most recent to start is the first Hilton hotel in Rio, which started out a couple of weeks ago and which is on the drive of five minutes from the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca. It will offer double rooms also from August. An estimated 80 percent of the entire space in the city will be occupied by teams, sponsors and officials.

“Generally, it has been seen in any mega event that extra places also offer for the public to stay, which needs to assess other possibilities with different kinds and cost levels,” said Alfredo Lopes, the president of ABIH. Rio de Janeiro is the first ever city in South America which is going to host Summer Olympics 2016. The opening ceremony will be held on August 5, while the closing ceremony will be held on 21^st of the same month. Stay connected with this blog to know about more updates from Rio 2016.

Silva Eyes to be Brazil Taekwondo Team Member to Fight in Rio Olympics

Anderson Silva who is mixed martial arts fighter of Brazil will try to secure a place in the Brazilian taekwondo team to compete in the Rio Olympics 2016. This was announced after a meeting with Brazilian taekwondo officials. Silva who is regarded as one of the best mixed martial arts fighter of history said he is trying to give back to sports which he got from it. Silva who is black belt in taekwondo said it will be difficult but it is a challenge for him. Carlos Fernandes who is Taekwondo confederation president said it is historic moment but emphasized Silva will have to qualify for Olympics and his fighting championship stardom will not be helpful.

The 40-year-old said he knows it will be difficult to compete at high level so he needs to resume training to fulfill his dreams because it is the greatest event of the world and every athlete wants to take part in it. The competitions to decide Brazilian Olympic squad will start on early 2016. Guilherme Felix who is one of Brazil’s top fighting player previously called the statement of Silva to participate in Olympics as a joke but later he declared his return good for Brazilian sports. Doping tests of Silva were positive in January and is trying to come out of temporary bans levied by UFC. He said he will not retire from MMA but his current focus is on taekwondo.

India Identifies 45 Athletes can Win Medals at Rio Olympics

Indian government has classified 45 athletes from 6 departments who can be medal winners at Rio Olympics and they will be included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme. These athletes belong to athletics, badminton, boxing, shooting, wrestling and sailing. About 30 more athletes from archery and athletics are to be identified. The 37 out of these 45 athletes have sent consent through email, 23 have signed the deal and 18 have sent requests to prepare for the Rio Olympics. The sports ministry said around Rs. 1 crore has been allocated for six athletes who are Vikas Gowda of athletics, Abhinav Bindra, Heena Sidhu, Manavjit Singh Sandhu of shooting, Aishwarya and Varsha from sailing.

A sum of Rs. 88 lakh will also be sanctioned when athletes from archery, shooting, wrestling and athletics submit their documents after clarification. Around Rs. 40-45 crore have been estimated to support the 75 athletes under the TOP plan. The support being provided to National Sports Development Fund is below this amount. The TOP plan has been started by the sports ministry to discover athletes who can win medals at Olympics and to provide funds to them so that they can be ready for the mega event. 

Brazil Aims to Increase Number of National Medalists at Rio Olympics

China performed excellent at 2008 Olympic games at home. Same was the case with Britain in 2012 London Olympics. Brazil will try its best to continue this chain by showing historic performance at its home ground. The nation is trying very hard by investing record money to make sure its players can be successful at home ground of 2016 Rio Olympics and perform well in front of the nation. Nations have good record of Olympics at home but Brazil may be different case because this is a country where football is favorite and it has not invested much in Olympics sports.

Brazil began to invest more on its Olympic athletes only after Rio was selected as 2016 Olympic host in 2009. The Brazilian Olympic Committee has target to double the 17 medals won at London Olympics that kept Brazil in the top 10. Brazil spent about $350 million since its selection as host in 2009 until London Olympics and a record $700 million were estimated to be invested over the four years untill Rio Olympics. The government started a plan in 2012 by building new training centers and hiring expert coaches to boost the performance of national athletes.  

Indian Race Walker Trio Qualify for 2016 Rio Olympics

Three race walkers of India Khushbir Kaur, Manish Rawat and Sandeep Kumar will compete in Rio Olympics 2016 after they showed good performance in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge at Rio Maior in Portugal. Khushbir Kaur who is the record holder of National women’s 20km walk took time of 1:33:58 which is less than Rio 2016 qualification time of 1:35 although she got 13th position in the race. Manish Rawat’s qualification time was 1:22:50 which is better than qualification time 1:24 of Rio Olympics and he finished in top 10.

Sandeep Kumar who is record holder of National 50Km race walk got 14th position with a time of 1:23:32 to secure place in 2016 Rio Olympics although he received one warning. Devender Singh could not qualify for the men’s 20km race walk with 18th position in time of 1:24:57. The fourth participant Ganpathy Krishnan was on 29th position with time of 1:27:05. Race walking squad of India took part in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Olympic Medal Winners Barnes and Conlan Secure Places for Rio 2016

Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan will compete at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games after they qualified for the event with their wins at the World Series of Boxing in Maiquetia in Venezuela. Barnes who is Bronze winner at the last two Olympic Games, extended his unbeaten streak to 7 games with 49-45, 47-48, 49-45 win against Finol Rivas in the light – flyweight. Bantamweight Conlan who is also bronze winner at 2012 London Olympics got victory against Jose Diaz because he rose second in the competition. Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmatov was leading the light-flyweight table on Friday but Barnes knew he will be on the top again with win over Rivas.

Conlan’s qualification was difficult as it depended upon Puerto Rican underdog Hector Garcia’s win against Azerbaijan’s Magomed Gurbanov as well as he was to record his own victory. However Garcia had a comprehensive win where he knocked Gurbanov to floor in the fifth round. Irish coach Billy Walsh said they are absolutely happy because Paddy and Michael have performed well this season and have qualified for the Olympics.

Olympics 2016 Rowing and Canoeing Venue Cleaned from Dead Fish

Rowing and Canoeing venue of Rio Olympics 2016 has been cleaned from thirty-two tonnes of dead fish. Above 60 persons from the Rio's sanitation department were working on the task to remove the fish from the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas over the past week. Some professionals think contamination is the reason, whereas the others say it is down to an unexpected fall in water temperature.

A lot of dead fish have been cleaned up regularly at the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas for more than a decade. In February, a large number of dead fish were found in Guanabara Bay, where the sailing events will take place. In the past, the location has created problems due to the levels of refuse and untreated sewage in the water. In January, Brazil government representatives confessed they would miss their goal of an 80% decrease in water pollution by the start of the Olympic Games.

The Summer Olympic Games will start in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 5 August next year and will end on 21st of the same month. Stay connected with this blog because we are here to deliver all the latest news and updates about Rio 2016.

Vila Residents Protest Exile for Construction Despite Compensation Offers

Demonstrators from Vila Autodromo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, took to the city's boulevards on Wednesday to challenge the arranged destruction of their group in front of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The gathering of around 30 protestors from the favela, or squatter settlement, brought on miles of gridlock in Rio as they walked contrary to their approaching expulsion. A portion of the offers to leave have come to as high as 2.7 million reals (US$853,674). Anyhow roughly 50 gatherings of inhabitants have declined to leave Vila Autodromo, regardless of inconsistent utilities and progressively lucrative offers.

Remaining Vila Autodromo inhabitants have apparently debated authorities' claim that they'll utilize the area to manufacture streets and rather anticipate that the zone will be changed over into top of the line lodging after the Olympics end. Rio chairman Eduardo Paes has endorsed measures that could constrain these families to leave Vila Autodromo in the event that they don't consent to energetically do as such.

The Summer Olympics is spitting in our face. A report by the Popular Committee on Mega-Events and Human Rights Violations, a Rio-based against Olympics gatherings, discovered three-fourths of the city's late removals were ordered because of the 2014 FIFA World Cup or the 2016 Summer Olympics. A few different associations, including Amnesty International and the Brazilian Institute of Architects, have censured the activities of city authorities.

Japanese Swimmer, Hagino Yamaguchi draw positives from below-par performances

Kosuke Hagino may not be as busy at the current year's Japan Swimming Championships, however he is begun off pretty much as dominant. Hagino won the men's 400-meter freestyle on Tuesday night in the first of four occasions. He has entered at the six-day meet at Tokyo Tatsumi International Pool.

Hagino has trimmed two events from his program not long from now as he goes for his definitive goal of a gold medal at this summer's big championships in Russia. An achievement there will acquire a spot on Japan's group to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics 2016.

The 20-year-old Hagino's victory in 3 minutes 45.19 seconds, issuing him a third straight title in the event, secured his spot on the squad to the big championships. Regardless of winning by over three seconds, Hagino was not satsified with his time, which missed the mark concerning the Japan record of 3:43.90 he set finally year's titles.

In the morning session Wednesday, Hagino was the top qualifier in the 200 freestyle, timing 1:47.41, then was quickest in the removal rounds with a period of 1:46.73 at early in the evening session. The last will be held Thursday night. He is entered in the 200 and 400 individual mixtures events in which he was ranked No. 1 on the world last year.

Sale of 7.5 million Olympic Games tickets begins in Rio de Janeiro

The most reasonable of the 7.5 million tickets are 40 reais and all buys can be paid for in up to five portions. The least expensive tickets at London 2012 were 20 pounds, at the time about $32. The most costly tickets in Rio for the athletics, basketball, beach volleyball and volleyball finals are valued at 1,200 reais, far over Brazil's base month to month compensation of 788.

Tickets for the prominent opening ceremony will cost up to 4,600 reais. The declaration came the same number of Brazilians struggle to keep their heads above water in the midst of a developing financial crisis. The economy grew 0.1 percent a year ago and is relied upon to shrink in 2015 as sleaze scandals hit investment.

The Summer Olympics competition schedule was additionally released on Tuesday, with eight finals on the last day, Sunday 21 August. The men's football competition is the first game to commence on 3 August, two days prior to the opening ceremony. Tickets for the seven soccer matches booked for Sao Paulo have been kept down because of an impasse over who will take care of everything for the redesigns at the Corinthians stadium.

2016 Rio Summer Olympics Competition Schedule

The opening ceremony of  Rio Summer Olympics 2016 will take place on Friday, August 05, 2016 at the Maracana Stadium. It features the final torchbearer and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. It is prior arrangement viewing for even the most sporty fans of the Olympic Games and it is always a demonstration.

The most popular gymnastics and swimming competitions will start from the next day on Saturday, 6th August. The men’s and women’s team finals for gymnastics will be on 8th and 9th August respectively. While the men’s and women’s all-around finals will be played on 10th and 11th August.

The second week of competition will be highlighted by the track and field events, including the women’s 100m final will be on Saturday, 13 August and the men’s 100m final will be Sunday, 14 August. The women’s basketball final will be on Saturday, 20 August and the men’s final will be on Sunday, 21 August. The closing ceremony is also set for Sunday, 21 August when the Olympic cauldron will be extinguished at the Maracana Stadium.