United States Olympic Committee managing director Leslie Gamez said they had seen “stunning progress” in preparations for the Rio 2016 Games as their three-day visit to the city came to an end on Wednesday (19 November). In their biggest pre-Games trip to Rio yet, more than 60 USOC delegates met with organising committee staff and visited Games facilities, with a special focus on logistical planning for their biggest medal hopes.

And Gamez, who was on her fifth planning visit to Rio, reported strong progress across the city.

“It’s been super-great, we’ve seen some stunning progress,” she said. “In terms of the infrastructure, hotels are being built, the progress at the Olympic Park (in Barra) is amazing, the Olympic Village continues to be impressive – it looks really wonderful, it’s a great location and I think our teams are going to be really comfortable there.”

Gamez added that colleagues had also been pleased after a visit to the site of Rio’s second Olympic Park, in Deodoro. “A number of our teams went yesterday and said they had a very good visit,” she said.

While the USA has hosted four editions of the Olympic Summer Games, Rio 2016 will be first time the world’s biggest sporting event has been held in South America, something noted by Gamez, who described it as “world-changing”.

“This is the perfect place to host the Games. It’s a wonderful culture and the people are so warm and welcoming, and it’s a beautiful location. I love Brazil and I think everybody in our delegation does, because it’s such a sporting country and you feel the enthusiasm and passion for sports in everyone you meet – from hotel owners to taxi drivers, everybody just seems so jazzed about the upcoming Games.”

Gamez predicted that the triathlon, road cycling and marathon events would be highlights – “They are wonderful because you get to see so many of the city’s iconic sights. They are the showcase events.” – but also stressed that US athletes were looking forward to being part of a vibrant atmosphere at Deodoro and experiencing the other new venues. On the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, she added: “The Maracanã is one of the greatest sports stadiums in the world and it’s going to create a lot of excitement among the athletes and spectators.”

More than 60 members of the United States Olympic Comittee visited Rio de Janeiro this week (Photo: Rio 2016/Mathilde Molla)

The USA expects to bring about 575 athletes to the Rio 2016 Games, a delegation that will total more 1,000 people including support staff. Among the sports represented during this week’s visit were swimming, athletics, gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, wrestling and rowing, with Alan Ashley, USOC’s chief of sport, overseeing everything.  

On his tenth pre-games visit to Rio, Ashley also gave organisers a good report. “There’s been lots of progress, things are really good,” he said. “The Village and the Olympic Park in Barra are really shaping up nicely. We have seen a lot of progress in the last year, and even since the World Cup finished (in July).”

Ashley also highlighted the legacy that the Games would leave to Brazil, saying: “The statistics show that when a country hosts the Games they get a bump in the results. And when you have athletes that succeed at that level, they become heroes for the kids, and that has a really important impact. Plus there will be legacy facilities left over and opportunities to grow sports in the community. We have seen that with all of the Games we’ve hosted.”

The USA hopes to have another chance to stage the Games in 2024, with a bid expected from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston or Washington. And Gamez did not hide her enthusiasm for the idea. “We’re always hopeful that the Olympic Games will come back to the United States because the legacy is so important and we’re proud to showcase any of our cities,” she said. “It would mean so much to our nation and so much to our athletes.”