London 2012 Olympics digital chief warns Rio to plan for mobile

Mark Sweney – The Guardian, 9/28/2012

The London 2012 Olympics head of digital has warned Rio to sort out its strategy in this area quickly, with 60% of this year’s Games content accessed via mobile devices.

Alex Balfour, head of new media at the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog), said that apps were only launched six months before the 2012 event and admitted that location services from Facebook and Foursquare were the only failure of the digital strategy.

Balfour added that the organisers of the 2016 Rio Olympics can only expect an even greater multimedia challenge in four years’ time.

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“We certainly didn’t spend 60% of our time thinking of mobile,” he said, speaking at the Royal Television Society Digital World Conference in London on Friday. “We only launched apps in the last six months, so Rio needs to get a move on.”

Brazil ready for 2014 challenge, says minister

Martyn Herman – Reuters, 09/10/2012

Hosting the Olympics two years after staging the World Cup was always going to be a big task but the success of London 2012 has raised the bar even further, according to Brazil‘s deputy sports minister Luis Fernandes.

With the Olympic flame now out in London, all eyes turn to the south American powerhouse and the clock is already ticking for the 2016 Games.

Fernandes, who attended the Paralympic closing ceremony on Sunday, predicted that national pride would ensure the Games in Rio de Janeiro would be every bit as successful as London.

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Brazil-South Korea Preview

AP/ESPN, 08/06/2012

The beat of the jogo bonito grows ever faster for Brazil as it chases the only title missing from its vast international men’s soccer cache — an Olympic gold medal.

And as it does, the pressure ratchets ever higher for the Selecao, who face South Korea on Tuesday at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, England, for a spot in the final game.

Much was made of Brazil’s squad ahead of these Games, with good reason. The roster coach Mano Menezes pieced together had gained senior national experience and — as seems to always be the case with the Selecao — displayed staggering talent and potential while meeting the Under-23 Olympic age criteria, and his three overage selections were used to compensate for the team’s youth on the backline.

As host of the 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup, the internal pressure of delivering an elusive Olympic gold for the soccer-mad country had been building almost immediately after Brazil was upset in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Copa America.

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Murer criticized in Brazil for blaming ‘dangerous’ wind for another Olympic disappointment

AP/The Washington Post,  08/06/2012

As if early elimination from the Olympics wasn’t enough disappointment, Brazilian defending world champion pole vaulter Fabiana Murer is getting harsh criticism back home for blaming the wind.

Murer aborted the jump that could’ve sent her to the finals because she thought the wind was too dangerous.

Brazilian fans, media and even fellow athletes criticized her for not trying the last jump, many saying the wind was the same for every one.

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Brazil’s Zanetti crowned lord of the rings

Pritha Sarkar – Reuters, 08/06/2012

Arthur Nabarrete Zanetti flexed his bulging biceps to upset 2008 champion Chen Yibing and become the first Brazilian to win an Olympic gymnastics gold medal with victory in the rings final on Monday.

The 22-year-old gymnast, the last competitor to mount the rings, edged out Chen by 0.1 of a point with a score of 15.900 to win the strongman event. Italy’s Matteo Morandi won the bronze.

World and Olympic champion Chen had been expected to retain his crown and seemed to have the gold in his pocket after a strong performance and solid landing. But Nabarrete Zanetti produced an inspired display to snatch the title away from one of the greatest rings specialists.

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Brazil easily beats New Zealand 3-0 in men’s Olympic football despite resting some starters

AP/The Washington Post, 08/01/2012

Brazil easily defeated New Zealand 3-0 on Wednesday despite resting some regular starters for the quarterfinals of the men’s Olympic football tournament.

Already in the next round, Brazil earned the comfortable win with goals by Danilo in the 23rd minute, Leandro Damiao in the 29th and Sandro in the 52nd.

The result eliminated New Zealand, which needed to win to have any chance of advancing from Group C.

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Rio should focus on branding for Olympic gold: Blair

Stuart Grudgings – Reuters, 04/29/2011

Rio de Janeiro’s hosting of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics is an unprecedented chance to promote Brand Brazil and ensure a legacy of economic and social benefits, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday.

Despite budget overruns by recent Olympic host cities and criticism of the huge cost of major sporting events, Blair said hosting such massive events was still worth it for the cascade of social and economic benefits they can bring.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity which is why people compete so fiercely to host the World Cup and the Olympics Games,” Blair, who played a leading role in the successful London 2012 Olympic campaign, told the World Economic Forum on Latin America in Rio de Janeiro.

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