Red Bull 49erFX- Easing into the Olympic scene at Rio

by Molly Meech and Alex Maloney on 30 Jul 2014 Red Bull 49erFX team of Molly Meech and Alex Maloney report on their second tour in Europe and the how things are shaping up at the 2016 Olympic venue

Week one in Rio was a whirlwind. We have only a quick impression of the city, and it seems that Rio is so many things at once. Bustling. Intimidating. Enticing. Exciting.

The days have been long, filled with fitness training, briefings, and sailing. This is no different to a normal day routine back home in New Zealand, but somehow the days feel longer and more tiring. Some say it is the atmosphere, the heat, and then later in the week the humidity. Maybe it is the fact that when you are out and about, you never quite let your guard down. Although it is an amazing city, Rio is also dangerous, and the disparity between the wealthy and the poor is quite large and noticeable.

However, perhaps it is more than that. We are putting all our efforts into one goal. Currently, our whole life is centred around winning in two years time in Rio. Being at the venue for the first time was always going to be interesting. Perhaps more focus and more thoughts are swirling around than normal.

To begin with, we were based in Niteroi, on the opposite side of Guanabara Bay, then moved to the Olympic Venue, Marina de Gloria. This will be our home club leading up to the games. With the whole NZL Sailing Team here in the lead up to the test event, the club is bustling with kiwis. The sailing club were gracious hosts, and it was easy to relax once inside the clubs gates. It is awesome to have the whole sailing team here. The amount of experience within the team meant we have been learning a lot from the other sailors while bouncing ideas around in nightly debriefs.

For the remainder of this blog including first thoughts on the Olympic venue at Rio and the much discussed pollution issue right click here