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SportsTravel caught up with U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun, who was attending the debut of rugby sevens at Deodoro Stadium, watching the U.S. women’s team lose a close match to Fiji in their opener. IOC President Thomas Bach was also in attendance. We had a chance to chat with Blackmun about the event and […]
Continue ReadingRugby last appeared in the Olympics in 1924 in its more traditional 15-a-side rugby union format. In 2016, it’s rugby sevens that is on the program, a quicker more high-scoring version of the sport. The United States won the last gold medal when the sport was on the program and has qualified both its men’s […]
Continue ReadingRio 2016 promised to deliver an Opening Ceremony fitting of the city’s journey to host the Olympic Summer Games and delivered in memorable fashion. According to organizers, this was their goal for the ceremony: “We want to change some paradigms of the Olympic ceremonies. We replaced the high-tech approach, the dependence on major electronic and […]
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In the world of national governing bodies, it’s rare to see an executive director whose tenure can be measured in decades. But Chuck Wielgus has found a winning formula at USA Swimming since taking over in 1997. In fact, he just received a contract extension through 2020. Among other accomplishments, he led the efforts to take the Olympic swimming trials from a natatorium to an arena, developed new corporate and television partnerships, and created the USA Swimming Foundation. His athletes have fared exceedingly well at the Olympic Summer Games, winning an average of 31 medals at each of the last three Games. He has also weathered significant controversy involving sexual abuse by coaches, which led to the Safe Sport program. In this interview with SportsTravel’s Jason Gewirtz, Wielgus discusses the upcoming Rio Games, progress…
Continue ReadingThe scene outside Maracanã stadium for the Opening Ceremony was a mix of fun and a reminder that high-profile events such as this require an extraordinary amount of security. Outside the stadium, Brazilian military were guarding every highway overpass for several miles out, and troops could be seen doing a different kind of Opening Ceremony […]
Continue ReadingEvery Olympic Summer Games seems to come with its own challenges and concerns. In 2008, questions swirled around Beijing’s air quality. In 2010, there were doubts about adequate snow levels at the alpine venues near Vancouver. In 2012, some wondered whether London’s public transportation would be too crowded to move people efficiently. And in 2014, […]
Continue ReadingRepresentatives of the Paris 2024 bid committee also met with the press on the eve of the Opening Ceremony, including French President François Hollande. The president spent his time reassuring the Olympic movement that the city could still be a viable host despite several recent terrorist attacks in the country. As evidence of that, he […]
Continue ReadingTop executives of the U.S. Olympic Committee held a press conference at the Olympic Park media center and said they were pleased with the athlete’s village, venues and cooperation they have received from the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee. “Things are going really well for our team,” said Alan Ashley, the USOC’s chief of sport performance and […]
Continue ReadingVisa has been an Olympic sponsor for 30 years and as Americans hear in the commercials throughout the Games, it is true that you really can’t use any other credit card at Olympic venues or official merchandise stores. To mark its third decade being associated with the Olympic movement, Visa officials held a party at […]
Continue ReadingThe Olympic Summer Games begin Friday in Rio de Janeiro and SportsTravel will be on site to see how the event is being organized. With all the negative publicity surrounding the lead-up to the Games, it was refreshing to see things working smoothly at the city’s Tom Jobim International Airport. Olympic volunteers were plentiful and […]
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