Rio 2016: Womens Podium Training, One Day Out

Blog #3 from Rio. August 4th. T-1 Day until Opening Ceremonies! Podium Training , Women

Yesterday , Wednesday, was podium training for the Men. They got to practice on the equipment, and feel the atmosphere in the arena! They looked great! Today was Women's Podium training. It was great to see Chusovitina in her 7th Olympic Games! She is older than me, and still competing. It is just remarkable! The Chinese team looked disheveled and inconsistent, especially on bars, where they usually shine. Their skills, and D scores are great, but the execution is just not there. We got out of the gymnastics arena today to watch some diving. Holy cow, amazing! Ten meter platform, three meter platform, three meter springboard, and synchro. They are in such great shape, seeing it live makes such a difference vs on TV. Chris and I walked around the public Olympic areas today, they are not open to the people until tomorrow, and only then to ticket holders for events. It is actually quite big, and appears to be coming together. We did step on wet paint today, as they are still in construction phase for most of the road signs, especially in the "behind the scenes" land that we have been living in. It is a small village, roads, its own transport system, food, work stations, stores and more. The cars, hundreds of them, that transport staff and VIP's are decorated in Rio logos.

A silver pickup truck wrapped head to tail in the multicoloured Rio 2016 livery, parked on a paved plaza in the Olympic Park.

Gina Pongetti Angeletti in a red tank top and Rio credential at the foot of a wide staircase outside a Rio venue, palm trees and the arena roof behind her.

Before the chaos of the week officially starts, I wanted to take some time to relish in the magnitude of the event. To walk around, talk to people from other countries, watch interactions between coaches and their own athletes, and, of course, take the "must-do" picture in front of the Olympic rings. I had to take a few (maybe a hundred) to make sure that I could get the best one to last a lifetime! The food here is very good...if we ever actually got a chance to sit and eat. And, the lines are long, but to be expected! My favorite so far? Cheesy bread. Yep. Just bread literally made I think with cheese instead of water. In the sport of gymnastics, there is never a dull moment. It is getting bigger, crazier, and therefore there are people that want to try new elements. Coaches submit these to the technical committee for approval, scoring, as well as Code of Points description and awareness. Want some quick Olympic and RIO facts? Inside Gymnastics had all of our Olympic coverage. The best way for us to get you to be virtually 'here' with us is through pictures. NBC owns the rights to all video footage, so, you have to watch;) Inside Gymnastics ran a picture gallery from Men's Podium Training. Want inspirational video? A small new hobby of mine (like I need more to do!) is putting these together, a men's Rio preview and a women's. Tens of thousands of people have watched. We are an hour away from the US Women doing their podium training tonight... more to come! Until tomorrow... Enjoy! Gina

Facebook: InsideGym - "Like" our page to get updates and links! Twitter and Instagram: @insidegym - follow us for AMAZING pictures during the competition and behind the scenes! You Tube for all videos: Inside Gymnastics Website- to see updates, photo galleries, and to SUBSCRIBE to the magazine and receive the Commemorative Olympic Issue- www.insidegymnastics.com Gina's Twitter: @ginapongetti

Day 3: Women's Podium Training