In the summer of 2016 I had the unbelievable opportunity to attend the Rio Olympics for free. I babysat the children of wrestler Jordan Burroughs for the year leading up to the games. They invited me along. While going through customs, they stamped our passports with a second stamp of the Olympic rings. Traveling to a country for the Olympics automatically provides a different experience than if you traveled there at any other time. A large amount of people visit, special structures block normal traffic, planned activities center around the Olympics. Also there’s always a chance you’ll run into an athlete. One day we ran into track athlete Allyson Felix in a burger shop.

Summer Olympics Event: Wrestling

Traveling with the family and friends of an athlete provided an extra layer, a bit of an “insiders view” of the Olympics. The only attended one Olympic event, was wrestling. Wrestling had three disciplines; Men’s Greco-Roman, Women’s freestyle, and Men’s freestyle, which closed out the last few days of the Olympics. Two weight classes wrestled each day and they switched between the two for each round. At this point I knew very little about wrestling. It was interesting to learn about what countries wrestling was a popular sport; including Russia, Japan, Turkey, and Iran.

Athlete Camp

After settling into our Airbnb upon arrival, we headed over to one of the US camps set up. These areas serve as alternative housing to the Olympic village, where athletes can stay with their coaches, and prepare for competing. Chefs from the Olympic Training Centers prepare food for the athletes. While proper nutrition is important for all athletes, this is especially important for sports who have to cut weight. I found this topic fascinating, as I was about to start grad school for nutrition. One camp was located in a mountainous area with high vegetation, and I worried about mosquito bites here. Zika Virus was a concern at the time.

Country Houses

We spent a day at the USA House. Countries set up houses to share music, culture, food, and their country’s history with the Olympics for fans. Many houses are open to the public, however some houses, including the USA and Canada Houses were both private. Some houses throw great parties, The USA House was a place of rest and relaxation for current and past Olympic athletes, as well as a list of their guests.

The history of country houses began in 1992 when Heineken partnered with the Dutch Olympic Committee to set up an area where athletes could spend private time with their families to celebrate wins or mourn losses. At the 2000 Olympics, the Heineken Holland House was opened to the public, and by the next Olympics other countries began the practice. The USA house was put together in a school across from Ipanema Beach. The first floor was filled with different seating areas, buffets, a screen to watch the games, and an area set up with inflated balls and floaty tubes that kids had fun playing with. Upstairs was an area promoting LA for the 2024 Olympic bid. Our plan was to spend a few hours there, but we spent the majority of the day taking advantage of the free food and being able to relax.

Companies have also started to put together houses. Jordan was sponsored by Asics, so the company invited us to the house. Similar to the USA house, there were screens set up to watch the games and free food. Also at the Asics house was a mini museum of Asics history and the Olympics, a section set up highlighting different athletes, and a small pool. I visited the Asics house twice. It was a nice get away from the crowds and had a very calming atmosphere.

Final Thoughts

There was a lot of negative press and thoughts about the Rio Olympics before we left. This was from fear of Zika Virus, green pool water, and building conditions for both athletes and fans. This seems to be a pretty common occurrence at each Olympics now. I’m not sure how much of that is due to new countries hosting the Olympics, or that I’m older and more aware of the negativity. My experience with the Olympics was completely positive. There are adjustments when visiting any country. Throwing toilet paper into the trashcan is a small adjustment, and does not mean the country and people do not deserve respect and appreciation.

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