Rio 2016 is ready to welcome the world

International Olympic Committee Press Release View this press release online     July 11, 2016 Rio 2016 is ready to welcome the world With 25 days to go until the Opening Ceremony, “Rio 2016 is ready to welcome the world” according to International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission Chair Nawal El Moutawakel . The Olympic champion, who heads the IOC’s Commission that since 2009 has been following the preparations for the Olympic Games Rio 2016, made this statement after her final pre-Games visit to the Brazilian host city. After meetings with the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, all three levels of local government (Federal, State and City), and a tour of a number of sporting venues, El Moutawakel said, “Rio 2016 is ready to welcome the world. The Olympians of 2016 can look forward to living in an outstanding Olympic Village and competing in absolutely stunning venues. From views of the Corcovado and Sugar Loaf Mountain to the new state-of-the-art facilities in Barra or Deodoro and the iconic Maracanã Stadium and Copacabana Beach, I cannot imagine more spectacular backdrops for the world’s top sportsmen and women to showcase their talents to a watching world.” She continued, “I have been visiting Rio regularly since 2009, and I love the Cariocas, and the Brazilians in general.  They are a very warm and hospitable people, who know how to welcome guests and how to live life to the fullest. Spectators visiting Rio this August will be able to fully experience that spirit, as they go to the venues, visit the live sites and discover the city. The Cariocas are going to be celebrating, and this means that Rio de Janeiro will be the place to be this August. The Brazilians have also transformed the city through a legacy vision that they have made a reality. Not just by delivering all the venues and services that the Games require on time, but also by creating a legacy that will benefit local citizens and the whole country for decades. The success of these Games will be their success.” After successfully hosting 44 test events, the Rio 2016 team and the venues are ready for action, with all the facilities receiving their final Olympic touches before the athletes  start to arrive in about two weeks’ time. The velodrome and equestrian venues, which were being monitored closely by the organisers, are also in the final stage of preparation, and will be ready for the Games.    The new Metro Line 4, which links Ipanema and Barra da Tijuca, and the Transolimpica Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), linking Barra to Deodoro, will also be fully operational for spectators at the Games. Trains are now running the full length of the metro line, as it enters the final stages of testing. This follows months of work by the Rio State authorities to test the personnel, rolling stock and safety technology of the new line, while the last bits of construction were being completed. The metro will play a key role in a sophisticated transport plan that will see athletes, spectators and local residents take advantage of a number of new pieces of transport infrastructure, such as approximately 150km of new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines that have been built thanks to the catalyst of the Games and which are already, in some cases, changing local peoples’ lives for the better. The subject of Zika was discussed during the visit. It was underlined that the latest advice of the WHO reaffirms that “there should be no general restrictions on travel and trade with countries, areas and/or territories with Zika virus transmission, including the cities in Brazil that will be hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games” (full WHO advice here), while the local authorities and organisers explained the ongoing work that is being carried out to minimise the risk to visitors. It was also pointed out that the Games will take place during the winter months of August and September, when the drier, cooler climate greatly reduces the presence of mosquitoes and therefore the risk of infection. On the wider security front, the Brazilian authorities reinforced their commitment to safe and secure Games, with a combined security force of 85,000 people guaranteeing the security of the Olympic Village, the sports venues and key infrastructure, such as the city's airports and main roads. Security personnel from 55 countries will be involved in securing the Games. El Moutawakel was also updated on the work that is being carried out ahead of the Games in the Guanabara Bay and Lagoa venues. The new belt of pipes that has recently been put into service around the Marina da Gloria area is showing its effectiveness, with the latest readings presenting much improved water quality levels in that area. Organisers restated their confidence that both areas of water would provide top-level conditions for the athletes. Rio 2016 President Carlos Arthur Nuzman commented, “Our journey is now entering its most critical phase: Operation of the Games.  We are obviously very proud that we are ready to welcome the world and we can also see the transformation of Rio everywhere we go.” He continued, “A lot of work lies ahead of us but we have plenty of energy. We will deliver great Games.” With the Games only weeks away, the city of Rio de Janeiro is getting dressed-up, as elements of the Games’ Look go up across the city. Organisers and local authorities were keen to underline the Carioca and Brazilian spirit that athletes, visitors and Games spectators will find in the city this August. As well as seeing the world’s best Olympic athletes competing in outstanding settings, spectators will be able to take advantage of the Games’ live sites, including in the newly revitalised port area; experience the Olympic spirit Carioca style in the Barra and Deodoro Parks; hang out at the beach; and discover a city and people with an important cultural heritage and a reputation for hosting one of the world’s number one celebrations every year, the Carnival. An explanation was also given of the legacy that the Olympic Games Rio 2016 has given to the city, and which is starting to materialise already today. This includes new transport infrastructure, sports venues that will become schools or sports facilities for local communities, around 70 new hotels, improved waste management, training for thousands of workers and volunteers, and investments in the city and local businesses that will make the city even more attractive in the years to come.  ### The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 3.25 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world. ### For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:  Tel: +41 21 621 6000 email: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our website at www.olympic.org. Videos YouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia Photos For an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr. To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Images team at: images@olympic.org.

African Championships

Durban, South Africa, June 25, 2016

TJ:

 

1. Tosin Oke (Ngr) 56-2½ (17.13);

 

2. Fabrice ZangoHugues (BUR) 55-2 (16.81) PR;

3. Godfrey Mokoena (SA) 55-¼ (16.77);

 

4. Jonathan Drack (MRI) 54-6 (16.61);

 

5. Olu Olamigoke (Ngr) 54-2¾ (16.53).

Olu's mother works in Martinez.

Bydgoszcz set to host one of the biggest ever editions of the IAAF World U20 Championships

© Getty Images The IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016, which will take place from 19-24 July, are on course to become one of the biggest gatherings of athletes in the history of the championships. With the deadline for the final entries now closed, a total of 1518 athletes (832 men and 686 women) have been entered. It looks set to be the second-biggest World U20 Championships to date, bettered only by the 2012 edition in Barcelona, where 1566 athletes participated. It will also surpass the figures from the 2008 edition, also held in Bydgoszcz, making it the biggest athletics championships ever held in Poland. No fewer than 160 IAAF member federations have confirmed their participation in these championships; the most attended edition was in 2006 when 176 countries gathered in Beijing. IAAF

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Press Release: Rio 2016 Olympic Games Athletics Statistics Handbook now available

© IAAF With exactly one month to go before the athletics gets underway, the athletics statistics handbook for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is now available to access from the IAAF website as an online ebook and as a PDF download. The 420-page book has been produced in collaboration with the Association of Track and Field Statisticians (ATFS) and edited by renowned athletics statistician Mark Butler. It features a wealth of information, including results and reports of all 951 Olympic finals to date. There are also all-time medals tables, statistics on the oldest and youngest athletes in Olympic history, a full country index, plus much more. “Athletes often speak about the ‘record books’ in a figurative sense, but this publication is as close as you can get to a definitive book of records for track and field at the Olympic Games,” said IAAF President Sebastian Coe. “I, along with thousands of athletics fans around the world, will regularly be consulting its hundreds of pages as the action unfolds in Rio later this year.” The athletics at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be held from 12-21 August. Rio 2016 Olympic Games Athletics Statistics Handbook: PDF | online ebook IAAF

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Team USA Roster

INDIANAPOLIS -- Five reigning Olympic gold medalists and five current world champions join 84 first-time Olympians on the Team USA roster nominated to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team. A roster of 126 men and women is slated to represent the United States in track & field competition August 12-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Notable for its depth across a range of events, the roster features 47 athletes - 24 men and 23 women - who already own individual and/or relay global medals. Nineteen are American record holders and three are individual world record holders.

 

“The team that selected itself at the 2016 Olympic Trials combines stars who are established as the best in the world with a new generation of exciting talent,” USATF CEO Max Siegel said. “We are extremely excited about the possibilities in Rio.”

2012 Olympic individual gold medalists set to go for gold in 2016 are Ashton Eaton (decathlon), Brittney Reese (long jump), Jenn Suhr (pole vault), Christian Taylor (triple jump), and Allyson Felix (200m), who will be competing in the 400m in Rio after winning 200m gold in London.

 

Fresh off of 2015 IAAF World Championships titles are Tianna Bartoletta (long jump), Ashton Eaton (decathlon), Allyson Felix (400m), Joe Kovacs (shot put), and Christian Taylor (triple jump).

 

Bernard Lagat (5,000m) is the veteran of the team, as he makes his fifth trip to the Olympics. This will mark the fourth Olympic Games for Allyson Felix, Shalane Flanagan, Meb Keflezighi and Chaunté Lowe. Lagat has the distinction of being the eldest on the team (41), while the youngest is 400-meter hurdler Sydney McLaughlin (16).

 

Nineteen athletes on the roster currently own an American record indoors or outdoors, including Bernard Lagat, Galen Rupp, Kerron Clement, Tyson Gay, Christian Taylor, Evan Jager, Ashton Eaton, Allyson Felix, Natasha Hastings, Molly Huddle, Shalane Flanagan, Emma Coburn, Maria Michta-Coffey, Michelle Carter, Brittney Reese, Keturah Orji, Jenn Suhr, Chaunté Lowe, and Kara Winger.

 

Eaton has two world records to his credit, with the indoor heptathlon and outdoor decathlon, while Suhr holds the indoor pole vault world record and Clement in the indoor 400m record. Felix and Bartoletta are part of the world record-holding U.S. 4x100m relay team.

 

First-time Olympians include 40 men and 44 women.

 

2016 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team

* Bold type indicates past World Outdoor, World Indoor or Olympic medalists (individual and/or relay)

* Italic type indicates first-time Olympian

* Relay pools are composed of the top four finishers in the 100m and 400m rosters, the athletes listed in each pool, plus any athlete already on the roster in any other event

* All nominations to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team are pending approval by the United States Olympic Committee

 

MEN

100: Justin Gatlin (Pensacola, Florida), Trayvon Bromell (St. Petersburg, Florida), Marvin Bracy (Orlando, Florida)

200: Justin Gatlin (Pensacola, Florida), LaShawn Merritt (Portsmouth, Virginia), Ameer Webb (Tustin, California)

400: LaShawn Merritt (Portsmouth, Virginia), Gil Roberts (Oklahoma City), David Verburg (Lynchburg, Virginia)

800: Clayton Murphy (New Paris, Ohio), Boris Berian (Colorado Springs), Charles Jock (Eugene, Oregon)

1500: Matthew Centrowitz (Arnold, Maryland), Robby Andrews (Manalapan, New Jersey), Ben Blankenship (Stillwater, Minnesota)

3000SC: Evan Jager (Algonquin, Illinois), Hillary Bor (Colorado Springs, Colorado), Donn Cabral (Glastonbury, Connecticut)

5000: Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Arizona), Hassan Mead (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Paul Chelimo (Beaverton, Oregon)

10,000: Galen Rupp (Portland, Oregon), Shadrack Kipchirchir (Beaverton, Oregon), Leonard Korir (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Marathon: Galen Rupp (Portland, Oregon), Meb Keflezighi (San Diego), Jared Ward (Kaysville, Utah)

110H: Devon Allen (Phoenix, Arizona), Ronnie Ash (Raleigh, North Carolina), Jeff Porter (Somerset, New Jersey)

400H: Kerron Clement (LaPorte, Texas), Byron Robinson (Chesapeake, Virginia), Michael Tinsley (Little Rock, Arkansas)

50K Walk: John Nunn (San Diego)

High Jump: Erik Kynard (Toledo, Ohio), Brad Adkins (Idalou, Texas), Ricky Robertson (Hernando, Mississippi)

Pole Vault: Sam Kendricks (Oxford, Mississippi), Cale Simmons (Rocklin, California), Logan Cunningham (Smithson Valley, Texas)

Long Jump: Jeff Henderson (North Little Rock, Arkansas), Jarrion Lawson (Texarkana, Texas), Marquis Dendy (Middletown, Delaware)

Triple Jump: Will Claye (Phoenix, Arizona), Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Georgia), Chris Benard (Corona, California)

Shot Put: Ryan Crouser (Boring, Oregon), Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pennsylvania), Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Discus Throw: Mason Finley (Buena Vista, Colorado), Tavis Bailey (Kannapolis, North Carolina), Andrew Evans (Portage, Michigan)

Javelin Throw: Cyrus Hostetler (Chula Vista, California), Sam Crouser (Gresham, Oregon), Sean Furey (Fargo, North Dakota)

Decathlon: Ashton Eaton (Bend, Oregon), Jeremy Taiwo (Seattle, Washington), Zach Ziemek (Itasca, Illinois) 4x100m Relay: Justin Gatlin (Pensacola, Florida), Trayvon Bromell (St. Petersburg, Florida), Marvin Bracy (Orlando, Florida), Mike Rodgers (St. Louis, Missouri), Tyson Gay (Lexington, Kentucky), Christian Coleman (Atlanta, Georgia)

4x400m Relay: LaShawn Merritt (Portsmouth, Virginia), Gil Roberts (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), David Verburg (Lynchburg, Virginia), Arman Hall (Pembroke Pines, Florida), Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Florida), Kyle Clemons (Rowlett, Texas)

WOMEN

100: English Gardner (Voorhees, New Jersey), Tianna Bartoletta (Elyria, Ohio), Tori Bowie (Sandhill, Mississippi)

200: Tori Bowie (Sandhill, Mississippi), Deajah Stevens (Bayside, New York), Jenna Prandini (Clovis, California)

400: Allyson Felix (Los Angeles), Phyllis Francis (Queens, New York), Natasha Hastings (Brooklyn, New York)

800: Kate Grace (Santa Monica, California), Ajee’ Wilson (Neptune, New Jersey), Chrishuna Williams (Dallas, Texas)

1500: Jenny Simpson (Oviedo, Florida), Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco), Brenda Martinez (Rancho Cucamonga, California)

3000SC: Emma Coburn (Crested Butte, Colorado), Courtney Frerichs (Nixa, Missouri), Colleen Quigley (St. Louis, Missouri)

5000: Shelby Houlihan (Sioux City, Iowa), Kim Conley (Santa Rosa, California), Abbey D’Agostino (Topsfield, Massachusetts)

10,000: Molly Huddle (Providence, Rhode Island), Emily Infeld (University Heights, Ohio), Marielle Hall (Haddonfield, New Jersey)

Marathon: Amy Cragg (Leavenworth, Kansas), Desiree Linden (Chula Vista, California), Shalane Flanagan (Marblehead, Massachusetts)

100H: Brianna Rollins (Miami, Florida), Kristi Castlin (Douglasville, Georgia), Nia Ali (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

400H: Dalilah Muhammad (Bayside, New York), Ashley Spencer (Indianapolis, Indiana), Sydney McLaughlin (Dunellen, New Jersey)

20K Walk: Maria Michta-Coffey (Farmingville, New York), Miranda Melville (Rush, New York)

High Jump: Chaunté Lowe (Atlanta, Georgia), Vashti Cunningham (Las Vegas, Nevada), Inika McPherson (Port Arthur, Texas)

Pole Vault: Jenn Suhr (Fredonia, New York), Sandi Morris (Greenville, South Carolina), Lexi Weeks (Cabot, Arkansas)

Long Jump: Brittney Reese (Inglewood, California), Tianna Bartoletta (Toledo, Ohio), Janay DeLoach (Fort Collins, Colorado)

Triple Jump: Keturah Orji (Mount Olive, New Jersey), Christina Epps (Morristown, New Jersey), Andrea Geubelle (University Place, Washington)

Shot Put: Michelle Carter (Ovilla, Texas), Raven Saunders (Charleston, South Carolina), Felisha Johnson (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Discus Throw: Whitney Ashley (Moreno Valley, California), Shelbi Vaughan (Azle, Texas), Kelsey Card (Plainview, Illinois)

Hammer Throw: Amber Campbell (Indianapolis, Indiana), Gwen Berry (St. Louis, Missouri), DeAnna Price (Moscow Mills, Missouri)

Javelin Throw: Maggie Malone (Geneva, Nebraska), Kara Winger (Seattle, Washington), Brittany Borman (Festus, Missouri)

Heptathlon: Barbara Nwaba (Los Angeles), Heather Miller-Koch (Columbus, Wisconsin), Kendell Williams (Marietta, Georgia)

4x100m Relay: English Gardner (Voorhees, New Jersey), Tianna Bartoletta (Elyria, Ohio), Tori Bowie (Sandhill, Mississippi), Morolake Akinosun (Aurora, Illinois), Jenna Prandini (Clovis, California), Ariana Washington (Long Beach, California)

4x400m Relay: Allyson Felix (Los Angeles), Phyllis Francis (Queens, New York), Natasha Hastings (Brooklyn, New York), Taylor Ellis-Watson (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Francena McCorory (Hampton, Virginia), Courtney Okolo (Carrollton, Texas)

 

 

Amanda Brooks
Marketing and Communications Manager
USA Track & Field
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