Why so little Olympic hype?
Is it just us or has it been all quiet on the Olympic front so far? It has certainly been a slower burn than four years ago with all that hullabaloo about the torch being carried from Belfast to Dublin and a blizzard of sponsorâs launches and campaigns to grab us by the lapels.
This time? An athlete qualifying here and a shock defeat for Katie Taylor there and ⊠thatâs been about it so far really.
Horse Sport Ireland held a media briefing in the National Sports Campus last week, and the Olympic Council of Ireland is marking 100 days to the Games when they do something similar in a hotel in Dublin city centre on Wednesday.
But the feeling at this remove is that 2016 will serve to reinforce the sense that 2012 really was our once-in-a-lifetime âhomeâ Games.
The real fear is that London will stand even higher in our estimations in comparison to Rio when the first South American Games are done and the various venues are again allowed to gather dust.
The reports and vibes emanating from Brazil have, to be kind about it, not been reassuring, with worries about preparedness, money, and the Zika virus among the most prominent.
Ticket sales have been similarly alarming.
London didnât get everything right. The controversy surrounding the cost of building and redesigning the Olympic Stadium continues to rumble through to the present with grumbles rife over the choice of West Ham United as anchor tenants as well as the financial figures involved, while the security issue also threatened at the time to overshadow an event that eventually cast the UK in its best light.
Rio, by contrast, brings to mind again the concern that swirled around Athens in 2004. The impression is one of a chaotic scramble by a city and a country that can ill-afford the worldâs most expensive sideshow.
Kevin Markhamâs piece in the Irish Examiner earlier this week, which touched on the environmental and conservation issues around the construction of the golf course, highlighted another downside to it all and some venues arenât up to scratch.
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, currently mired in a political crisis, took time out on Tuesday to reassure everyone that âthe Games are in a totally adequate situationâ and even a little ahead of schedule. IOC chief Thomas Bach predicted a spectacular success, but then they would, wouldnât they?
More interesting was swimming chief Dr Julio Maglione, the FINA president, who this week joined the growing line of sports officials eager to berate the organisers for shortcomings at event venues. His ire was fired scattergun at a raft of rescinded promises that resulted in a squeezed capacity at the aquatics venue, the scrapping of a retractable roof as well as inadequate air conditioning and light.
âIn Athens, Beijing and London, all our Olympic aquatics events have been held at Olympic pools with a 17 to 18,000 capacity,â Dr Maglione explained this week. âThis was the initial agreement for Rio as well but, since, that number has been pushed down to 14,000.â
Far more alarming is the observation made by Ron Froehlich of the International Gymnastic Federation earlier this year. He made the point that regular power outages were affecting the scoring system and even athlete safety in their designated arena. Letâs not even start on the polluted mess that is Guanabara Bay where the various outdoor water sports are to be held.
Talk privately to those involved in the Irish Olympic scene, including some who have already visited Brazil on recce missions or for test events or other past competitions, and the collective sense is one of fingersâ crossed, grin and bear it.
It will still be the Olympics, of course, but the efficiencies that marked Beijing and London will almost inevitably be diluted in South America.
Nick Turner knows the scene there better than most. Now high performance manager for Irish Eventing, the Englishman touched down here over three years ago having spent the previous Olympic cycle as team manager and coach â as well as chef dâequipe at the 2010 World Equestrian Games and 2012 Olympics â to the Brazilian team. He smiled knowingly when asked what to expect from his old haunt in August.
âThey are very positive people. I have experienced a little lack of detail in the planning, but it will happen and it will go ahead. The venue itself for equestrian, I have to say that I was so pleasantly surprised at what they produced for the test event. I had been there several times before for training and competitions and what they have done for the site itself is amazing.
âThatâs made me very confident that that venue will be up and running and very functional. I would have no question about that.
âLogistically, it wonât necessarily be the most user-friendly, from the spectatorâs point of view. But they are great, friendly, welcoming people and they will do everything they can to make it happen.â
We can but hope.
Email: brendan.obrien@examiner.ie
Twitter: @Rackob
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