... that an average pole vaulter uses 8 poles? But this varies between 2 and 14 per athlete. Decathletes use about 5 on average.
... that the Olympic Complex has two training/warm-up tracks? And there's an underground tunnel leading from the training picthes to the dressing rooms of the stadium.
... that the stadium has almost a complete track right underneath the track you see on television? That's for the last minute warm up. Or did I mention this before?
... that the athletes after their event are quarantined for the doping test? They can be accompanied by only one person before having completed the test.
... that the height of the hurdles are different for every event? Steeplechase, womens 100m, mens 110m, womens 400m and mens 400m hurdles all have their own height.
... that before actually getting to the track, the athletes are gathered in two different call rooms subsequently?
... that the bottles they use for the marathon and race-walking are provided by the organisation? And that they need to hand in the full bottles at our desk on the morning before their race?
... that there is a full video service available for the athletes and officials? They can request any piece of video (e.g. their own race) and it will be provided for them.
... that not only are the condoms for free in the village, but also the lubricants? I'm not kidding!
... that the most used medical service during every Games are the dental services? Many athletes don't have good dental services or insurance in their country and as it is free in the Village...
... that almost the entire hospital staff consists of volunteers? I've been told that only two people are paid there.
... that the Village has two ATM's, but as Visa is a main sponsor you can only withdraw cash with a Visa card? So obviously most athletes need to go into town to get cash. I wonder what effect this has on the goodwill of Visa...
... that athletes get tickets for other events almost for free? And that all venues have a special seating area for athletes and officials.
... that all delegations are handed two mobile phones by the organisation upon arrival? Also all their NOC assistants (mostly volunteers) have an Olympic mobile phone. These are the numbers we use whenever we need to call them.
... that the Village restaurant is open for 24 hours? And that they have almost every type of meal available. Including a McDonalds.
... that our building is just like a bank? You have the front office, operations, risk management and IT. Just like back home...
... that Chinese and NBA basketball star Yao Ming is literally and figuratively the biggest star of the Village. Everybody looks up to him...
... that tomorrow is my last shift of the Games? :-(
Roberto
PS: But not my last posting, as I will have to sort out my 500+ pictures to put the best ones online. Keep an eye on this site or lopezramirez.net for the pics.
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