RIO 2016: With 200 days to go until South America’s first Olympic Games kick off sixty of the nation’s finest athletes have taken a step closer to Rio 2016 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
The city of churches welcomed the ASPIRE #RoadToRio series that is travelling the country aiming to inspire and inform athletes and officials ahead of August’s event.
Five-time Olympian and Olympic Champion Nat Cook lead the proceedings, with Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller providing an update on how Rio is progressing on the ground.
A host of Australia’s leading cyclists and beach volleyball stars dominated the crowd alongside athletes from boxing, shooting rowing and gymnastics.
For cycling star Richie Porte the session proved to answer a lot questions and acted as a great source of inspiration as he looks to qualify for his first Olympic Games in Rio.
“It’s great to come to a session like this and find out what it means to be a part of an Australian Olympic Team,” said Porte.
“It was good to hear about Rio itself, the precautions we have to take and get all the important information.”
Porte is a genuine podium chance at each Grand Tour event he enters and will also be keen on securing Australia’s first road cycling medal since Sara Carrigan’s famous gold in Athens 2004.
“For sure we have a chance for a medal.
“There are nine guys going for four or five spots but at the end of the day it is going to be a fantastic team.
“It would be massive to make it to Rio. Now remembering back to watching the Olympics as a kid it would be such a buzz to get there.”
Another cycling star in the audience was multiple Olympic Champion Anna Meares.
The 32-year-old is well on track for her fourth Olympic Games and thought the session provided a great insight into what the Games will be like come August 5.
“I thought it was really great. I really took a lot from what Kitty Chiller said in her speech. I thought Nat Cook did a fabulous job of hosting, combing the serious side of it but brought in a bit of humour as well,” Meares said.
“It’s all really relevant even for someone like myself who has been and done it a couple of time.
“Anything associated with Australian Olympic Team and Olympics of past is always inspiring. I think it was really cool to learn a little bit of a history lesson of our 1980 team who went to Moscow. It keeps us as the Australian Olympic Team with a proud record of going to every modern Olympic Games. “
Chiller provided some insight into the progress of Olympic venues, the Olympic Village and provided an update on how big Australia’s attendance is likely to be in Rio.
“We are on track for having our second largest away team ever with approximately 450 athletes in line to go to Rio.
“Australia has already secured 234 quota places and 13 athletes have already been selected.”
Athletes also heard about health and wellbeing, anti-doping, social media as well as getting a chance to try on their uniform.
“It was pretty surreal to be honest, we were fortunate enough to have a try out the Olympic bikinis that we’d be looking to play in in Rio,” said beach volleyball Mariafe Artacho Del Solar.
“It was a very surreal moment, and we looked at each other and said that this is what we’d be wearing on the world stage.
“It’s what we’ve been working towards for four years, so it’s a pretty incredible feeling.”
The ASPIRE series will next head to Perth in March and by the time it is complete in April will have reached 800 athletes and officials on their #RoadToRio.
MATT BARTOLO
olympics.com.au
