Category Archives: Olympic News

Athletics timetable for Rio 2016 is published

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The IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) has released the athletics’ timetable for the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 and it features finals during the morning sessions of the athletics programme.

“Staging finals in the morning was done at the request of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee and the Olympic Broadcasting Service, supported by the International Olympic Committee,” said IAAF competitions director Paul Hardy. “Having finals in the morning will also ensure that we receive maximum visibility for athletics at the Olympic Games across all time zones.”

There is at least one final in all of the morning sessions. All five road events – the two marathons and the three race walk events – will be held in the morning sessions, although both 20km race walks will be in the early afternoon. Other morning finals include the women’s 10,000m, men’s and women’s 3000m steeplechase, men’s 400m hurdles, men’s triple jump, men’s and women’s discus, and the women’s hammer.

For the full calendar – as of 15 December 2014 – click on the photo below, then click again to increase the size…

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Vinicius and Tom are the names chosen for Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic mascots

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13.12.2014.Mascotes.NomesThe Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots have been named. The Olympic mascot will be called Vinicius and the Paralympic mascot will be called Tom. The names were chosen by a public vote with 323, 327 votes cast.

The names, which received 44 per cent of valid votes, pay tribute to the great Brazilian musicians and composers Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim. The duo were a key part of the group that created Bossa Nova. Together, Vinicius and Tom wrote The Girl from Ipanema, one of the most-played songs of all time, and many other bossa nova classics..

Vinicius and Tom were chosen ahead of the other two shortlisted pairs of names: Oba and Eba, and Tiba Tuque and Esquindim.

Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman said the public had chosen names that reflect the character of the Rio 2016 Games. “The names of Vinicius and Tom are recognised worldwide as a synonym for excellence, which is in line with what we want to achieve with the Rio 2016 Games,” he said. “In addition to representing the Brazilian fauna and flora, our mascots also connect to the best of our music. We are certain that they will be an inspiration to the youth.”

The origin of the Rio 2016 mascots blends fiction and reality. According to the “legend”, on 2 October 2009, when Rio de Janeiro was elected to host the Games, the great explosion of joy amongst Brazilians was felt by nature and from this energy the mascots were born.

rg_vinicius_1Vinicius, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games mascot, represents all of the different animals in Brazil. He combines the agility of cats, the sway of monkeys and the grace of birds. He can stretch his arms and legs as much as he wants and has a very acute sense of smell and amazing powers of hearing.

rg_tomTom, the Paralympic mascot, is a fusion of plants found in Brazilian forests. He is energised by photosynthesis and can pull any object from his head of leaves. He is always growing and overcoming obstacles, and believes there is no challenge that cannot be solved.

2016 Olympic and Paralympic mascots unveiled in Rio

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23.11.2014.Mascotes. Forte Copacabana.The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots have been unveiled. Inspired by Brazil’s fauna and flora, the duo feature various pop culture influences, along with elements of animation and computer game characters.

“The Rio 2016 mascots represent the diversity of our culture, of our people,” said Beth Lula, the Rio 2016 brand director. “They represent our joy, our way of being. Both of them are magical creatures with super powers and relate naturally with the young audience, who we want to engage with our event so much.”

The Olympic mascot represents all of the different animals in Brazil. He combines the agility of cats, the sway of monkeys and the grace of birds. He can stretch his arms and legs as much as he wants. The Paralympic mascot is a fusion of plants found in Brazilian forests. He is energised by photosynthesis and can pull any object from his head of leaves. He is always growing and overcoming obstacles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmGuf-qWmoA

Both mascots have their own Facebook and Twitter profiles and share a special website with fun activities for kids.

“The mascots are one of the most important symbols of the Games because they create an emotional link with the public, especially children, and are genuine ambassadors for the event,” added Lula.

What is not known yet, is their names. A poll is already open and the public can vote for their choice from a shortlist of three pairs of names: one for the Olympic mascot, the other for the Paralympic mascot, respectively. The choices are Oba and Eba, Tiba Tuque and Esquindim, and Vinicius and Tom. You can find out more about these names, and vote for your choice by Clicking Here The winning names will be announced on 14 December 2014.

The mascots were created by Birdo Produções, a São Paulo-based design and animation company that has won numerous international awards.

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Olympic mascots visit Rio de Janeiro

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11599_10152876941534111_291692445796855411_nAhead of Rio hosting the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2016 a group of mascots from previous games dropped in on the city to show their support. They included Misha (Moscow 1980), Athena (Athens 2004), Fu Niu Lele (Beijing 2008), Wenlock and Mandeville (London 2012).

The Olympic games will take place 5-21 August 2016 and the Paralympic 7-18 September 2016.

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More athletes book their spot in Rio for 2016

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456696546.jpgIn recent weeks the USA women’s basketball team has booked its place at the Rio Olympics alongside the USA men’s team. Both won their respective world championships.

Also through are the Colombia women’s football team who qualified by coming second to Brazil in the Copa America. The women’s football tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be contested by 12 teams. In addition to Brazil and Colombia, there will be three European teams, two from Africa, two from Asia, two from North and Central America and one from Oceania. Places will be allocated according to the results of continental qualifying competitions.

The first two hockey teams have also won their places at the Rio Olympic Games, with India’s men and the Republic of Korea’s women confirming their berths by winning the gold medals at the recent Asian Games, in Incheon, the Republic of Korea.

The men’s and women’s hockey tournaments will each feature 12 teams. Five berths in each gender will be obtained through continental tournaments, such as the Asian Games, while six will be won through the 2014/2015 Hockey World League. The 12th spots are reserved for Brazil if the host nation’s teams achieve performance criteria set by the International Hockey Federation.

coreia_do_sul_-_asian_hockey_federationFive more countries have confirmed their places in the shooting competition following the world championships when 27 nations booked their spots. The Shooting Championship of the Americas, held in Guadalajara, México, has confirmed a further 11 places. Cuba claimed the largest number of berths by winning five events, while the USA took three spots. The Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Ecuador won one place each.

China was top of the shots at 51st International Shooting Sport Federation World Championship in September 2014, winning nine berths for the first Olympic Games in South America. Germany, the Republic of Korea, Italy and Russia each claimed five spots, while France and Slovakia secured three places.

The other nations to win places at Rio 2016 were Australia, Belarus, Spain, USA, Great Britain, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine and Vietnam (two each), Bulgaria, Chinese Taipei, People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Slovenia, Hungary, India, Czech Republic and Turkey.

scott.jpgSailing has delivered the largest bulk of Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualifiers yet, as 138 places – more than half of the sport’s total for the event – were won at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander, Spain.

New Zealand, Great Britain and France finished as the top-performing nations, all claiming berths in each of the 10 Olympic classes. A total of 39 countries won places in Brazil.

The other 36 nations that won Rio 2016 places were: Denmark (7), the Netherlands (7), Italy (7), Australia (6), Spain (5), the USA (5), Russia (5), Sweden (5), Austria (4), China (4), Croatia (4), Finland (4), Norway (4), Germany (3), Ireland (3), Japan (3), Poland (3), Portugal (2), Lithuania (2), Israel (2), Argentina (2), Cyprus (2), Belgium (2), Canada (2), Slovenia (2), Greece (2), Switzerland (2), Belarus, Estonia, Guatemala, Hungary, the Virgin Islands, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Singapore and Tunisia.

In total, 274 boats will compete in Guanabara Bay at the Olympic Games. In addition to the 138 that qualified in Santander, a further 47 will win their places at the 2015 world championships and 75 at continental qualifiers held in 2015 and 2016. Brazil will be allocated 10 places and the remaining four spots will be by invitation by the International Sailing Federation.

Rio 2016 announces ticket prices for Olympic Games

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ticketsTicket prices for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games have been announced – and more than half of them will be sold at accessible prices in order to ensure that the event is open to everyone. About 7.5 million tickets will be issued and approximately 3.8 million of these will be available for 70 Brazilian reais (US$30) or less. For the price ranges (in Brazilian reais) for all sports and ceremonies CLICK HERE. Or click on the images below.

Currently (16 September), R$10 is worth about US$4.30, €3.30 or £2.60.

There will be tickets for 717 sports sessions, covering all 28 Olympic sports, plus the opening and closing ceremonies. The range of prices the organizers say is designed to make tickets as affordable as possible, with the goal of ensuring that the local Brazilian population has the opportunity to attend events. The cheapest ticket will be priced at 40 Brazilian reais (less than US$20).

The full Rio 2016 Olympic Games Ticket Sales Programme will be unveiled in November 2014, along with the competition schedule and details on how the public can buy tickets.
The next step on the spectator’s journey towards participating in the first Olympic Games to be staged in South America will come in November. Fans from all over the world will be able to register on the ticket sales website and indicate which sports are of  interest to them. They will then receive tailored news and information on these sports and athletes, as well as other events around the Games, as anticipation builds towards 2016.

Brazilian residents will be able to enter the first of two draws for tickets in March 2015. Non-Brazilian residents will be able to apply to buy tickets in their own territories in the first half of 2015 (details will be announced on the ticket sales website at a later date) and then again in January 2016, in the worldwide first-come-first-served online sales phase.

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Rio’s Olympic Village takes shape

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As these photos show, the Olympic Village for the 2106 Olympic and Paralympic games in Rio de Janeiro is starting to take shape.

The Village is being built on what was the city’s motor racing circuit in Barra da Tijuca (top photo). The circuit held its first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1978, and then held the Brazilian Grand Prix every year between 1981 and 1990.

The new space will not only house the athletes village but also a number of the sports.

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First equestrian teams qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics

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Screen Shot 2014-08-31 at 19.18.47With the results at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in France the eventing teams from Germany, Britain, Netherlands, France, Australia and Ireland have qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Showjumping teams to qualify for Rio include the Netherlands, France, US, Germany and  Sweden.

They join the German, British and Dutch dressage teams that became the first in any sport to qualify for the Rio Olympic games.

Brazil has automatically qualified as the next Olympic host nation.