Giovane Gávio may have retired from the volleyball court, but he has already guaranteed his place at the Rio 2016 Games. Brazil’s two-time Olympic champion has joined the organising committee as part of the team that is planning every detail of the most important aspect of the Games: the competitions themselves.

“The fact that I participated in four editions of the Games will certainly help me a lot to meet this challenge,” said Giovane, who is competition manager for volleyball, beach volleyball and sitting volleyball. “As athletes, we have a different experience, but being part of the organisation is also a very big responsibility. The Olympic Games are the most important event in a sport’s calendar and we know the fans’ expectations about volleyball here in Brazil. It will be an opportunity to contribute and learn a lot.”

Giovane joins a host of Olympians at the Rio 2016 Organising Committee whose expertise will be crucial. After all, with more than 800 medal events in 65 sports, the challenge of staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games is immense. The team’s mission is to plan the competitions, together with each sport’s International Federations, guaranteeing the best possible conditions for athletes.

Having competed in four Olympic Games, Sebastián Cuattrin is well-equipped for his role at Rio 2016, where he is responsible for the canoe slalom, canoe sprint and paracanoe competitions. “We have to think about everything, from the towels the athletes will use to how they will reach the competition venues and how the entire competition will take place,” he said. “Experience helps a lot with this, as we have to track what the athlete’s day will be like, from the time they wake up until they arrive back in the Olympic Village.”

Other ex-athletes in the team include South African Collen Osmond, who is managing the rowing competitions, and Paulinho Villas-Boas, who is leading the preparations for the basketball and wheelchair basketball competitions. Both of them competed in two Olympic Games.

At the head of this team is Agberto Guimarães, Rio 2016’s Executive Director of Sport and Paralympic Integration. He too began his career as an athlete, participating in two Olympic Games (Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984) as a middle distance runner.

“The competition managers have in-depth knowledge of their sports and bring all this experience to the committee, so that we can plan, organise and deliver excellent Games, both for the athletes and the spectators,” he said.

However, it’s not just former athletes who are helping. Walter Boddener, who used to coach renowned Brazilian sailors Torben Grael and Robert Scheidt, is the sailing competition manager. “We do the integration between the committee, the International Federation, the athletes and the judges from different countries, so technical sports knowledge is essential to understand all the demands of these clients and think about the best conditions for the competitions. Guanabara Bay, for example, offers a very beautiful backdrop for TV, but also highly technical lanes, which will make the sailing competitions even more thrilling for the athletes and fans.”

The organising committee also counts on advice from the Sport Advisory Committee, a group of current and former athletes led by Ricardo Prado, who won a swimming silver medal at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. At periodic meetings, these athletes are invited to give their opinions on topics such as accommodation, transport and infrastructure.