The track cycling competition began Thursday at the Olympic Velodrome,
which has "become as much a rock star as the athletes who will compete
inside it,” according to Greg Bishop of the N.Y. TIMES. The $150M
velodrome, nicknamed the Pringle because it is "shaped like a Pringles
potato chip," was completed "earlier and sold out faster than any other
Olympic site.” It won architecture design awards “before it hosted a
competition.” The building “runs on a system designed to keep the track
at the ideal temperature for speed, 82.4 degrees.” Below the track “lies
an underflow heating system,” and the arena doors “do not open wide and
they close quickly, so as to eliminate wind when spectators enter and
leave.” As many as “10 employees check for temperature, for carbon
dioxide and for wind levels, and adjust accordingly.” The velodrome
“underscores the place track cycling has come to occupy in Britain over
the past decade” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/2).
MAKING A SPLASH: The AP’s Janie McCauley wrote the
Olympic Aquatics Centre is “like nothing Britain has seen.” Olympic
Delivery Authority Project Exec Ian Crockford said designers examined
not just Olympic requirements, but also "what we needed for the future
for a really good quality community pool." The venue is “largely
considered the signature design feature at Olympic Park.” The facility,
which cost “about $470 million to build and was designed by renowned
London architect Zaha Hadid, features state-of-the-art pools that can
change depths thanks to moving floors” (AP, 8/1).
TOURING AROUND: In London, Alan Lee wrote under the
header, “A Trip To The Basketball Arena Proves A Hassle-Free Blast.” Lee
writes the first thing that "strikes you about the Basketball Arena is
that you would quite like to eat it." Lee: "Icy white and decorated with
dimples, it looks like nothing so much as a giant birthday cake.” The
courtside presentation during yesterday’s basketball games was “crucial,
first bringing basketball alive, then giving it the brash context of
its American pomp.” Twenty minutes before the first game, an
“explanatory video told us how the tournament works.” The arena will
host the preliminary rounds of the basketball, plus the handball
finals (LONDON TIMES, 8/2).
THE ONE AND ONLY: In San Diego, Mark Zeigler wrote the
Horse Guards Parade, where beach volleyball competition is being held,
is “pretty cool, and pretty surreal.” There has “never been an Olympic
venue quite like it, and it’s hard to imagine there ever will be” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 8/2).
MACLEANS’ Jonathon Gatehouse wrote, “It feels like you’re sitting at
the very heart of the British Empire. Until you look down and see the
women in bikinis.” But as “incongruous as it all is, it works.”
Gatehouse: “The crowd sings, dances and cheers. For set and match points
they’re on their feet roaring. And despite the fact that most them
couldn’t tell a bump from a bumper, let alone explain the scoring
system, they are clearly enjoying the hell out of themselves. It’s like
the Olympic’s apology for all that Skeet Shooting and Dressage. A
cheese-filled, frivolous wrapping for some serious athletic competition
and dedicated athletes” (MACLEANS.ca, 8/2).
COE BLOWN AWAY: In Phoenix, Dan Bickley wrote for the “most
part, the Games are off to a jolly good start.” LOCOG Chair Sebastian
Coe said, "I've now visited 16 sports. And I've been absolutely blown
away by the noise, the vibrancy, just the humor and the excitement (at
the venues). And I guess I'm happy if the people are happy" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 8/2).
