First impressions of Rio from the ground

WE’VE heard about the dramas ahead of the Olympics. Now our man on the ground reveals what it’s really like in Rio.

Even Olympic greats get starstruck.

AS FAR as first impressions go, Rio has been somewhere in between the AFL debuts of Jack Watts and Jacob Weitering. Or Albert Kelly and Sonny Bill Williams if you’re an NRL fan.

It’s not a disaster, but there’s a bit to be worried about.

Despite all the pre-Olympic concern around Brazil the first moment of trepidation in my Games experience was delivered in Australia. Qantas Flight 27 from Sydney to Santiago was delayed by three hours and from what I heard of the pilot’s explanation to everyone later, engineers had worked through the night on the engine. Way to fill us with confidence.

But any fears weren’t going to dampen the spirits of those on board — the large majority of whom were headed for Rio. There was a serious Olympic vibe as former athletes like John Steffensen and Steve Hooker mixed with members of this year’s Vanuatu team.

My mood picked up when I discovered I’d been seated between Australian Olympic synchronised swimmer Danielle Kettlewell and the mother of road cyclist Rachel Neylan.

Kettlewell grew up in Canada but donned the green and gold for the chance to compete at an Olympics. Neylan’s mother was travelling alone after the death of her husband a year ago and spoke with fierce pride about her daughter. Both female athletes suffer financially because of their love for their sport.

This is what the Olympics are about, I thought, people like this.

Australian Olympic road cyclist, Rachel Neylan.

The trip was long, but largely uneventful (I finished off Usain Bolt’s autobiography before watching a few movies) and most of the group of eight News Corp employees exited Rio airport with ease.

A couple had baggage arriving on later flights but mine was there so I jumped in a free media cab and headed to our hotel at Copacabana Beach. An awful stench filled the taxi during one stretch alongside Guanabara Bay.

“That’d be where the sailing is,” a colleague remarked. Those from my hometown of Adelaide will know what it smells like while driving past the Patawalonga at Glenelg. It was twice as bad as that.

It was dark as we drove but the main road from the airport to town looked similar to most developed countries. Some of the side alleys were a little scruffier, but not on the level of other places I’d been like Thailand or Indonesia.

We grabbed a midnight feed of pizza and barbecued meat (which came with a seasoning that looked like sawdust) at a local diner, during which one pesky mosquito buzzed around my head. Sitting among the condiments was a bottle of insect repellent so I drenched myself, ate quick and headed back to my hotel.

A polluted canal runs next to the Olympic Park.

It stayed quite warm through the night but living without air-conditioning will be manageable.

After spending the night at Copacabana I opted to attend a media opportunity with our road cycling teams in the morning after managing just three hours of jetlag-ruined sleep. Neylan was there with the rest of the women’s team at Ipanema Beach, where morning joggers dodged the Australian press pack and Rio felt like a sleepy coastal tourist town that was yet to wake up to the party just around the corner.

But then we jumped in a taxi to make the estimated hour-long trip across town to Barra — the location of our accommodation, the athlete’s village, the main media centre and the site of sports like swimming, tennis, track cycling and boxing — and Rio felt busy.

Our driver didn’t speak a lick of English and had never driven the newly-constructed roads around the media village. One hour turned into two and not even the jugglers who performed their circus tricks in front of us at traffic lights (beats a window washer) could alleviate the frustration. About 2km from our destination we were stopped by a police road block. The Colombian and Italian road cycling teams were training and the road wasn’t being reopened for two hours. Luckily there was an alternative route and after several conversations via Google Translate we found our way.

The apartments in the village met expectations. The good? Separate rooms and showers for me and a colleague with a small kitchen and living area. The bad? No cupboards, shower curtain or ironing board. Overall, it’s fine. We dumped our gear and headed (via bus this time) to the main media centre.

50+ TV cameras and hundreds of journos turn out for @MichaelPhelps press conference. pic.twitter.com/asfysGLPqZ

— Jai Bednall (@jaibednall) August 3, 2016

I’d heard one of our female cyclists asked earlier that day to describe the ‘wow’ moment in which the fact she was at the Olympics truly felt real. For me it was walking into a press conference starring 22-time gold medallist Michael Phelps.

I wasn’t the only journo to enter the room and immediately pulled out my phone to capture the scene. There were at least 50 television cameras perched across the back of the room and at least 200 journalists and photographers seated on ground level. You just don’t see media interest on this scale at any other sporting event.

Journalists seem to alternate between describing Phelps as either the greatest — or most decorated — Olympian of all-time, depending on their personal preference. This 30-minute Q&A — during which Phelps spoke about being selected to carry the American flag in the opening ceremony, his frustration at doping and the renewed threat of the Australian team — confirmed his status as one of the true stars of this Olympics. But even the greats have moments of fandom. Phelps couldn’t resist asking Novak Djokovic for a selfie after spotting him strolling in the athletes’ village this week.

This is what the Olympics are about too, I thought, people like this.

After just 24 hours (I’m still yet to set foot inside an Olympic venue) it’s too early to make a call on what kind of Games we can expect. There will be issues for those on the ground — the water quality and traffic are no joke and that first mozzie worried me a bit — but nothing that will outweigh the joy of watching these athletes. Whether I’d heard of them before or not.

Bom dia.

Jai Bednall is in Rio covering the Games for news.com.au

Originally published as First impressions of Rio from the ground