Rio de Janeiro impressed members of the international federations for rowing and canoeing who today concluded their three-day visit to the city. Matt Smith, executive director of the international rowing federation (FISA), Svetla Otzetova, FISA’s events director, and Jean Michel Prono, president of the slalom committee of the International Canoe Federation, had meetings with Rio de Janeiro’s bid commission to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and visited the planned competition sites.

The FISA officials made two visits to the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon, home to rowing in the Rio 2016 plans. “It’s amazing how the quality of the site has improved since Rio’s first bid, in 2004. The Rio 2016 team is first class and has created a fantastic facility,” praised the Hungarian Svetla, who has also fallen for the beauty of the city. “Rio de Janeiro is incredible. I believe that many people would like to visit the city and stay for a long time.”

Slalom canoeing will take place in a custom-built facility, the X-Park in Deodoro. It will be dedicated to extreme sports and will become an important legacy for a region with a major concentration of young people. Under Rio 2016 plans, the locale will also host mountain bike and BMX events. “The plans for slalom canoeing are excellent. It’s important to emphasize that its future is already being discussed, not thinking only of the Olympic Games. This is crucial for the population,” said the Frenchman Jean Michel Prono.

In addition to the technical visits, the international federation officials participated in meetings with representatives of Rio 2016’s Sports and Infrastructure areas. “The visits went very well. The Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon really differentiates our Olympic bid, since it is a stunning location right in the heart of the city. The international federation believes that it has great potential to promote rowing. The X-Park, which will host the slalom canoeing, was rated an excellent project by the visit, with its vision of taking extreme sports to a region with a young population,” explained Agberto Guimarães, Rio 2016 sport director.