Water Sports Olympic Stadium is delivered for tests and 'dreams'

Mayor Eduardo Paes, Governor Francisco Dornelles, President Dilma Rousseff, Carlos Nuzman from Rio 2016 and the Minister of Sport Ricardo Leyser, with the water centre sign. Picture: Roberto Castro/ Ministry of Sport

The national anthem in the delivery ceremony of the Water Sports Olympic Stadium was a mere formality for many, but it carried an intense symbolic strength in the first row of seats, closest to President Dilma Rousseff this Friday. There, a 48 year-old athlete sat, five time Brazilian triathlon champion, who competed in 13 editions of the Ironman event. Mother of three, she had to review her concepts, targets and priorities because of the acronym MSA, Multiple System Atrophy. "When the anthem was played, I closed my eyes and imagined myself winning a medal here. Too much emotion. It's my life's dream. Competing in a Paralympics at home is priceless", said Susana Schnarndorf.

On the 21st of this month, she will be in the 50m pool in the Barra Olympic Park. However, this time she was only able to look at it from the edge and above lane 4's reel, the most sought after by swimmers, as that is where the athletes with the best times start from. Twelve hundredths off the podium at the 2012 London Paralympic, she is looking to qualify at the test-event in Rio and is seeking functional reclassification, from Class S6 to S5. This is because in the last few years, the severity of her degenerative disease has limited her movements and breathing capacity. "On the 21st I'm going through the reclassification process. In S5, I'll be more much more competitive", she said. In sum, in Paralympic swimming, the lower the number of the class, the higher the athlete's limitation in relation to movements.

Before diving into the venue she described as amazing, the athlete from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, who is training in a reference centre in São Caetano do Sul, listened carefully to the descriptions of the venue being delivered by federal, state and municipal government authorities, as well as Rio 2016. With R$ 225 million from the Ministry of Sport, the Water Stadium has a warm-up and a main pool for competition.

Susana in Lane 4, the one with the best times. The athlete’s Paralympic dream already has its stage. Picture: Gustavo Cunha/Brasil2016.gov.br

"Here is where we have introduced the concept of nomad architecture. The playing field is the best possible, the spectator's experience is the best, but with no luxury, nothing over the top. Ventilation is natural. There are holes under the seats through which ventilation passes through. The arena is screwed in. We made a stadium that will be disassembled soon after the Games, turning into two or three new venues in Rio, which we're going to use in the sports centres in the city's poorest areas", said Mayor Eduardo Paes.

"We're building a quality benchmark, a reference in relation to this Olympics. First, because the Games are being staged in partnership with the federal, state and municipal governments, as well as the private sector. It is a strong feature. Secondly, we have faced this challenge within the deadline, with quality and at a low cost. Thirdly, the legacy. What is left behind for Rio's population: schools, sport structures and significant mobility infrastructure", said President Dilma.

Healthy pressure

The grandstands bring another innovation. As the indoor part of the stadium has only the one pool, without the tank and the diving board, the 18 thousand places are closer to the competition area. "I've got a long history at the Olympic Games. In none of them had I seen a water stadium just for swimming. You will feel the audience's healthy pressure. We won't have the swimming fans in that isolated areas, far from the diving. This makes us proud and certain that we'll be bringing another piece of collaboration to the International Olympic Committee", stated Carlos Nuzman, president of the Games Organising Committee.

With the audience being so close and the stadium having this 'cauldron' type style, Susana is already predicting being able to hear three specific seats, where Maila, Kaipo and Kaillane will be at. "I was joking here. If I hear a 'Go, mom' during the competition, I'll win the events", stated the athlete.

"We don't need marble, granite or expensive seats. We can do it more reasonably, with all sport transmission requirements. We have structures as if they were definitive, but that may be dismantled. We didn't want an Olympic park this big as legacy. We already have Maria Lenk, which supplies for all our needs. The project managed to save up to R$ 100 million", said the Minister of Sport Ricardo Leyser. "There is perfection and great. Great fits with our concept. And like so, the city stands out. We need to create architecture icons. The city is very beautiful already. This is an amazing venue, which will ensure that sport stands out", added Leyser.

In fact, standing out through sport is a concept that summarises Susana's relation with the world. She gathered strength to face this incurable disease through her children's love and sport. "Usually, people live six or seven years with this disease. I've had it for 11. Sport decelerated the degenerative process. Therefore, for me it is more than important than anything else, as it has given me my life back. If I were not training, I probably wouldn't be here anymore".

Test-events

The Water Sports Olympic Stadium will host the first test-event starting on the 15th. Throughout six days of competition, the Maria Lenk Trophy will bring together swimmers from 11 countries, in addition to Brazil, and will serve as a last qualifier round for the home team. In addition to the 356 Brazilian athletes, 55 foreign nationals will take part in the qualifiers for the Olympic events. Qualifiers always start at 09:00am and finish at 05:30pm.

Between the 22 and 24 of this month, the new arena will host the International Open Caixa, Paralympic swimming test-event. There will be 212 athletes from 19 countries and Brazil will have young talent, in addition to the main team, competing in order to qualify for the Paralympic Games. Water polo closes the round of preparatory tournaments at the Water Stadium between 25 and 29 April. According to the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, 60 athletes are expected to take part, from four countries (Brazil, United States, Canada and China).

The Water Stadium has a main competition pool and one for warm-up, both have been finished and filled. Over the last few days, services like the lining in the technical areas have been finished, the lighting has been put up and generators installed. In addition, the assembly of the green and blue seats has finished.
The outside façade has been finished. It is made up of 66 twenty-seven metre tall panels, made of polyester and coated in PVC, with anti-UV protection, so as to keep the venue's internal temperature down. The screens reproduce the piece 'Celecanto Provoca Maremoto' (Coelacanth Causes Seaquake), by artist Adriana Varejão. The main pool holds around 3.7 million litres of water, which at Games Time will be kept between 25 and 28 degrees Celsius. A special filter reduces the use of chemical products in 25% and eliminates 99.9% of impurities in the water.

The Water Sports Olympic Stadium will be stage of the swimming between 6 and 13 August, as well as the final stages of the water polo, from 15 to 20 August at Games Time. It will also stage the Paralympic swimming between 8 and 17 September.

Ambulances to be used in emergencies at Games Time and that will remain as legacy after the mega events. Picture: Roberto Castro/MoS

Ambulances

At the same ceremony, for the Water Sports Olympic Stadium, the federal government also delivered 146 ambulances that will serve tourists and athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Minister of Health Marcelo Castro and the Rio de Janeiro State Health Secretary Luiz Antônio de Souza signed the term for the use of the vehicles.

"The Advanced Support Mobile Units will be used to help the more serious cases. We're working in partnership with states and other municipalities, where competitions will be held, to enhance the infrastructure and organisation of public services in the sector, in order to ensure all assistance to Brazilians and tourists, who will come to our country to watch the Games", pointed out Marcelo Castro.

From the total of ambulances, ten units had been delivered to the state government in 2015. The event this Friday marked the symbolic delivery of the remaining 136 ambulances by President Dilma Rousseff. The ambulances are available and the Rio de Janeiro state government may pick them up in Tatuí (state of São Paulo), where the vehicles are made.

Gustavo Cunha - brasil2016.gov.br