IOC Concerns for Rio 2016, "Clock is Ticking"

(ATR) Two members of the IOC Coordination Commission for Rio 2016 tell Around the Rings they expect next month’s inspection visit to uncover challenges across the project.

Led by IOC member Nawal El Moutawakel, the delegation visits Rio Sept. 1-2.

One commission member told ATR that the current pace of preparations for Rio 2016 has echoes of the build-up to the Athens Games.

Rio is set to be "a carbon copy of the Athens Olympics" where organizers faced a race against time to be finished for the Games, he said. Final preparations were still going on until the last minute, with painting and other touch-ups happening the day before the Games.

Despite the gloomy forecast, the panel member said he was sure Rio 2016 would eventually deliver a "great Games with a Latino flavor."

Another member of the 2016 watchdog group told ATR that "the clock is ticking" yet concerns voiced by the IOC are only slowly being addressed.

Among them is the provision of accommodation for the different Olympic stakeholder groups, he said. There are also question marks about whether the public transport infrastructure and venues will be completed, according to the schedule agreed with the IOC.

One significant challenge for Rio 2016 leaders is development of the second Olympics hub in the Deodoro Zone where eight sports are to be accommodated. Hockey and rugby have only recently been relocated there.

El Moutawakel’s panel is likely to pay particular attention to this aspect of venue plans next month, ATR understands.

Reported by Mark Bisson.

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