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Rio Confidential: Olympic swimmers head out to party in Rio

RIO CONFIDENTIAL: As Australia tries to sleep off our disappointment in the pool, Rio’s Olympic swimmers have headed out to party.

Usain Bolt: Still the fastest man on earth

AS Australia tries to sleep off our disappointment in the pool, Rio’s Olympic swimmers have headed out to party.

From rooftop bars in Copabana to VIP shindigs in converted nightclubs, the taut bodies that spent the past week chasing the black line at Rio’s aquatic centre have started getting a taste of the city’s night-life.

Australian coach Michael Bohl’s daughter Georgie kicked off Saturday night with a bar crawl while some of the US team had their own brush with Rio’s underbelly and were robbed on their way home from Ipanema’s Club France.

The Dolphins took a low-key approach to the start of their Brazil downtime.

Emily Seebohm floats on a banana lounge in the pool. Picture: Alex Coppel
Emily Seebohm floats on a banana lounge in the pool. Picture: Alex Coppel

The swimmers took advantage of a brilliant sunny day to enjoy a family and friends’ BBQ at Aussie chill-out zone The Edge.

Kyle Chalmers kicked a footy around with Dave Morgan, James Magnussen caught up with his parents and Emily Seebohm floated on a banana lounge in the pool.

Kyle Chalmers relaxes with a bit of football. Picture: Alex Coppel
Kyle Chalmers relaxes with a bit of football. Picture: Alex Coppel

Keen horsewoman Seebohm said she was hoping to catch some equestrian competition over the next week, while Bronte Campbell was hoping to stay awake Sunday after an early start of sponsor appearances.

“I would love to go out to Rio and see the sights,” she said.

“And I have heard that the men’s basketball is on at 7pm so if I am still standing by tonight … I would love to head out to the basketball and see how many sports we can get to and try to support the rest of the team.”

Aussie swimmers Cate Campbell and Bronte Campbell. Picture: Alex Coppel
Aussie swimmers Cate Campbell and Bronte Campbell. Picture: Alex Coppel

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PHOTOGRAPHERS will do anything to get the perfect photo — even running their own marathon to shoot the marathon.

About 30 shooters from all over the world were moving from vantage point to vantage point for the women’s marathon course in an official Rio bus when the driver got lost.

Things start to get a little heated when the photographers realised it was getting close to the finish and they weren’t in place to get the winner.

Completely clueless on where to go the driver dropped off the photographers on the side of the road and they started to walk when they noticed the marathon frontrunner was heading their way.

All 30 of them hot-footed along the marathon route, being cheered on by the huge crowd that had gathered at the finish line. They managed to get into position just in time to capture winner Jemima Jelagat Sumgong claim her gold medal.

Kenya's Jemima Jelagat Sumgong runs toward the finish line to win the women's marathon.
Kenya's Jemima Jelagat Sumgong runs toward the finish line to win the women's marathon.

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THERE are 10,000 people and one free McDonalds. You do the maths.

The line to get near the ever popular free Big Mac in the Athlete’s village is longer than the line to get into Usain Bolt final.

Reportedly, athletes are queuing in line ups that stretch the length of a football field to get their fix. One American athlete told the Washington Post people were playing beach volleyball in the line — which is long even at 5am — just to pass the time.

Originally published as Rio Confidential: Olympic swimmers head out to party in Rio

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/sports-life/rio-confidential-olympic-swimmers-head-out-to-party-in-rio/news-story/4932e730576b217174ee78701d0ee39e