vinipereira

Some thoughts: * Most venues are ready and now we have the temporary structures being installed. The exception, of course, is the Velodrome in Olympic Park, which has the track and most of its interior ready, but needs some fast work on the facade. * Nice to see the temporary seats being installed, giving "shape" to the temporary arenas, like the secondary tennis courts in Olympic Park and the Rugby Arena and Equestrian Stadium in Deodoro. * Possible to see other temporary structures being installed in the Olympic Park, like the Rio mega store and the Globo studio, which are covering the blank spaces. * Similarly, the warm up pool from Swimming was covered with a temporary roof. * In the Olympic Village, is possible to see a huge temporary strutucture that probably will host most of the services for the athletes. I was also told that more than 70% of the apartments are already furnished. * In Deodoro, seems like they will keep the little fake slum alongside some part of the Mountain Bike course. I have no objections, but some people hate it. * I have tickets for one Golf session. Will I have to be in those stands for the entirety of the session (which will take hours)?

Golf Course: More:

Deodoro: More:

Olympic Village: More:

Olympic Park: More:

The mascots for the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games have been presented: Soohorang, the mascot of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games took its motif from the white tiger. Soohorang not only has a challenging spirit and passion but also is a trustworthy friend who protects the athletes, spectators and all participants in the Olympic Games. Can't wait for Soohorang's remarkable activities! Bandabi, the mascot of the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games took its motif from the Asiatic black bear. Bandabi has strong willpower and courage. It is a warm-hearted friend who takes the lead for equality and harmony and encourages the athletes to push their limits. We will look forward to Bandabi's amazing activities.

Yes, Takabatake finished the ranking period ahead of Kitadai, but barely. While the ranking has certainly played a major role in the selection, other factors were considered. For instance, Kitadai has a much better history against top 12 athletes, and also is a current Olympic medalist.

Amanda Simeão will replace Emese Takacs (her naturalization was suspended). (source)

China is surprisingly good here. Unlike the women's tournament, I think we'll have to wait until the last day to know the last qualified team.

Yes. Luciano Correa was our number 1 athlete for years in the -100kg class, being world champion once and also having won the last two Pan American Games. He was going for his third Olympics but didn't achieve great results this season - being surpassed by Rafael Buzacarini in the rankings. While the ranking was not the only criteria for the selection (Kitadai was chosen over a better ranked athlete), Buzacarani is clearly better at the moment.

Brazil's team was just announced (source): Men's -60kg: Felipe Kitadai -66kg: Charles Chibana -73kg: Alex Pombo -81kg: Victor Penalber -90kg: Tiago Camilo -100kg: Rafael Buzacarini +100kg: Rafael Silva Women's -48kg: Sarah Menezes -52kg: Érika Miranda -57kg: Rafaela Silva -63kg: Mariana Silva -70kg: Maria Portela -78kg: Mayra Aguiar +78kg: Maria Suelen Atlheman

Very good start for Iran at the qualifying tournament.

Olympic and Paralympic medals will be unveiled on June 16th.

Rio gets ready to party as hospitality houses revealed for Olympic and Paralympic Games Everybody knows Rio de Janeiro is one of the best cities on the planet in which to party, but things will reach another level when the Olympic Games get underway. After details were revealed of the official hospitality houses that will spring up for the event, it seems athletes, visiting fans and the city's residents will be spoilt for choice when the action begins in August. More than 30 countries, and a number of companies, have now confirmed the location for their official residences, many of which will be open to the public. At prime locations across the city, they will offer spectaular settings for watching the sport on big screens, socialising and experiencing the culture and gastronomy of each venue's host. Hospitality houses have become a tradition of recent Olympic Games; at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 they were some of the most popular places for athletes and fans to let their hair down. The German hospitality house on Leblon beach, complete with big screens and teutonic cuisine Half of the houses in Rio will be open to the public, while entry to some country houses (such as those of the USA, Great Britain, China and Russia) will be restricted to athletes and invited guests only. Entry to most of the open houses will be free. Germany will have two houses; one open to the public on Leblon beach and another closed location in Barra da Tijuca. There will be hospitality houses all over the centre of the city and in the main beach districts, located in a variety of cultural centres, sports clubs and historic buildings. The Portuguese, in keeping with their maritime history, will use a historic sailing ship as their residence. Host country Brazil will run one of the largest hospitality houses in Rio. Casa Brasil will be located across two former warehouses in the city’s renovated waterfront district. Visitors will be able to sample Brazilian coffee, chocolate, cachaça and wine. Mexico will install their house in the National History Museum in central Rio, while France will be based amid the glamour of the horse-racing track near the lagoon (Lagoa) and Jamaica, which is yet to announce its house's location, promises reggae parties. Japan, which will host the next Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, will take over the modernist Cidade das Artes building (see photo below) in Barra da Tijuca. The British house, which will not be open to the public, will be located in the historic Parque Lage, which is nestled under the Christ the Redeemer statue. Highlights Netherlands (Monte Líbano Club, Lagoa). If there was a gold medal for country houses, the Dutch would be the reigning champions and hot favourites to defend their title in Rio. By day, the celebrated 'Holland Heineken House' is sure to be a popular location for watching events; by night, it is always one of the most sought-after locations for Olympic athletes and spectators to party. The Dutch are charging 15 euros for entry – excluding drinks. Switzerland (Baseball ground, Lagoa). With classic Swiss punctuality, the house will be one of the first to open. From 1 August, visitors will be able to ice skate and indulge in chocolate, raclette and other Alpine delicacies. After the Games, the Swiss will leave behind them a modernised baseball pitch as a legacy for the city of Rio. Republic of Korea (Sulamérica Convention Centre, central Rio). The Korean house will be open from 11 to 13 August and will include performances of K-Pop (Korean pop music) and cooking competitions. The Korean city of PyeongChang will host the next Olympic Winter Games, in 2018, and this event will have its own hospitality house, whose location is yet to be revealed. Australia (Rio Stock Exchange Convention Centre, central Rio). The house will be open for one week and will provide visitors with information about opportunities to study and work in Australia, as well as a taste of life Down Under. Austria (Botafogo Club, Botafogo). The Austria house was a big hit with the public at Sochi 2014. In Rio, the Austrians will operate a round-the-clock bakery and delicatessen, serving up treats such as Kornspitz bread and, of course, wiener schnitzel. Austria House in Botafogo will provide guests with typical Austrian food and drink (Artist's impression) Colombia (Health Ministry Cultural Centre, central Rio). This will be the first Colombian hospitality house at the Olympic Games. Colombian coffee and exotic fruits will have pride of place. An artist's impression of what visitors can expect from Colombia House in central Rio Casa África (Casa Shopping, Barra da Tijuca). The 54 African delegations coming to the Games will share one hospitality house in Barra. Visitors will be able to experience a 60-seat airplane simulator, watch a short film about the continent and participate in a lottery to get the chance to ‘land’ the plane. There will also be plane tickets to be won. One of the highlights of the house will be a fashion show in which Afro-Brazilian models will wear typical African clothes and costumes on the catwalk. The Africa House in the Barra region of Rio will be home to a hi-tech airplane simulator (Artist's impression) After the Games Although the focus of the houses is on entertainment and promotion, many of the countries coming to Rio plan to leave a legacy to the city long after the Games have ended. Casa Daros, a former art gallery which will be the venue for Qatar's hospitalty house, will be converted into a bilingual public school called ‘Eleva School’. During the Games, the country will transform the historic building into a typical Arab souk where visitors will be able to enjoy shawarmas and get painted with henna. Funds raised from tickets to Bayt Qatar (bayt means house in Arabic) will be donated to local charity Futuro Olímpico and used to give underprivileged young athletes from Rio the opportunity to train at Qatar’s sports facilities. There will be a traditional Arab souq in the Qatar House in Botafogo (Artist's impression) Meanwhile, Denmark, in keeping with its cycling traditions, will donate 65 bicycles to the city as well as toys for schools and a massive mock-up of the city made entirely of bricks from house sponsor Lego. The maps below show the location of some of the hospitality houses:

Table Tennis at the Summer Olympic Games 2016 Competition Details City Rio de Janeiro Dates August 6th - August 17th, 2016 Venue Riocentro - Pavilion 3 Website Official Website Official Schedule Day 1 Saturday, August 6th, 2016 Day 1 Time (GMT -3) Event Stage 09:00 - 10:30 Women's Singles Preliminary Round 09:45 - 11:15 Men's Singles Preliminary Round 11:15 - 12:45 Women's Singles Round of 128 14:30 - 16:00 Women's Singles Round of 128 16:00 - 17:30 Men's Singles Round of 128 19:00 - 20:30 Men's Singles Round of 128 20:30 - 22:00 Women's Singles Round of 64 Day 2 Sunday, August 7th, 2016 Day 2 Time (GMT -3) Event Stage 09:00 - 10:00 Women's Singles Round of 64 10:00 - 12:00 Men's Singles Round of 64 13:30 - 14:30 Women's Singles Round of 64 14:30 - 16:30 Men's Singles Round of 64 18:00 - 20:00 Women's Singles Round of 32 20:00 - 22:00 Men's Singles Round of 32 Day 3 Monday, August 8th, 2016 Day 3 Time (GMT -3) Event Stage 10:00 - 12:00 Women's Singles Round of 32 12:00 - 14:00 Men's Singles Round of 32 16:00 - 17:00 Women's Singles Round of 16 17:00 - 18:00 Men's Singles Round of 16 20:30 - 21:30 Women's Singles Round of 16 21:30 - 22:30 Men's Singles Round of 16 Day 4 Tuesday, August 9th, 2016 Day 4 Time (GMT -3) Event Stage 10:00 - 14:00 Women's Singles Quarterfinals 16:00 - 18:00 Men's Singles Quarterfinals 20:30 - 22:30 Men's Singles Quarterfinals Day 5 Wednesday, August 10th, 2016 Day 5 Time (GMT -3) Event Stage 10:00 - 12:00 Women's Singles Semifinals 20:30 - 21:30 Women's Singles Bronze Medal Match 21:30 - 22:30 Women's Singles Gold Medal Match Day 6 Thursday, August 11th, 2016 Day 6 Time (GMT -3) Event Stage 10:00 - 12:00 Men's Singles Semifinals 20:30 - 21:30 Men's Singles Bronze Medal Match 21:30 - 22:30 Men's Singles Gold Medal Match Day 7 Friday, August 12th, 2016 Day 7 Time (GMT -3) Event Stage 10:00 - 13:00 Women's Team Round of 16 15:00 - 18:00 Women's Team Round of 16 19:30 - 22:30 Men's Team Round of 16 Day 8 Saturday, August 13th, 2016 Day 8 Time (GMT -3) Event Stage 10:00 - 13:00 Women's Team Quarterfinals 15:00 - 18:00 Men's Team Round of 16 19:30 - 22:30 Women's Team Quarterfinals Day 9 Sunday, August 14th, 2016 Day 9 Time (GMT -3) Event Stage 10:00 - 13:00 Men's Team Quarterfinals 15:00 - 18:00 Men's Team Quarterfinals 19:30 - 22:30 Women's Team Semifinals Day 10 Monday, August 15th, 2016 Day 10 Time (GMT -3) Event Stage 10:00 - 13:00 Women's Team Semifinals 15:00 - 18:00 Men's Team Semifinals 19:30 - 22:30 Men's Team Semifinals Day 11 Tuesday, August 16th, 2016 Day 11 Time (GMT -3) Event Stage 11:00 - 14:00 Women's Team Bronze Medal Match 19:30 - 22:30 Women's Team Gold Medal Match Day 12 Wednesday, August 17th, 2016 Day 12 Time (GMT -3) Event Stage 11:00 - 14:00 Men's Team Bronze Medal Match 19:30 - 22:30 Men's Team Gold Medal Match

As expected, Diogo Sclebin will represent Brazil in the men's event (source).

Historically Football is our number 1 sport in popularity and quality, but for the past decade or so I really agree Volleyball is the sport we're best at. I think they considered the world ranking for team sports only, that's why some results are strange to say the least...

What do you guys think about this map which shows the sports each nation is best at? (detailed results here)

I hate our group. Brazil will get a really tough opponent in QF - although this worked just fine for us last time

Unless some athlete has an injury (remember that Brazil had such a bad luck during the team selection in 2012), our female gymnastics team will be the same from test event last month: Daniele Hypolito, Flávia Saraiva, Jade Barbosa, Lorrane dos Santos and Rebeca Andrade. (source)

Apparently these will be the Olympic groups, pending on the team that will get the last spot.

South Korea lost to Thailand, but is the first nation from the tournament to confirm a spot in Rio.

Good match for Peru yesterday, I was rooting for their qualification, but this time simply is not possible. I think they are improving and maybe can qualify in 2020. If only they were taking part in the other qualifier... Top 4 pretty much decided unless Thailand does extremely well in the remaining two matches (and Japan doesn't).