The former double Olympic 1500 metres claimed he was impressed with the preparations at the start of a two-day trip to Rio de Janeiro.

The London 2012 chairman was accompanied by Carlos Nuzman, his counterpart at Rio 2016, and visited the Rocinha Sports Complex, where children from the community have the opportunity to practice Olympic sports such as swimming, football, judo, taekwondo and boxing, before travelling to the Maria Lenk Acquatics Centre, a diving and polo competition venue for Rio 2016 which is currently used as the Time Brasil training centre, a project of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) and which serves as a base for preparation of Brazil's elite athletes.


The training centre has an Olympic and a diving swimming pool, an area for taekwondo, a modern strength and conditioning room, and a rest room for athletes.

At Maria Lenk,Coe met several athletes preparing for London 2012, including swimmer Kaio Márcio, diver César Castro, sprinter Rosângela Santos and the taekwondo team who train with Beijing 2008 Olympic bronze medallist, Natália Falavigna.

After visiting the centre, Coe went to the Rio 2016 headquarters and saw presentations about the Games project and the progress of its preparations in the city.


"I am impressed with what I've seen today and with the spirit of the youth I've spoken to," said Coe.

"I am also very happy to see that the Brazilian Olympic Committee and Rio 2016 work closely with several athletes and former athletes because when you see the world through the eyes of an athlete, you can deliver excellent Games to athletes.

"London is determined to build a legacy to the city and the nation and I see that Rio is following this model.

"I believe that relationships made through sport, as it's happened to London and Rio, are long-lasting.

"In a 100 years from now, the fact that we've been host cities once will keep our friendship going."

Nuzman reciprocated Coe's praise.

"On behalf of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, I publicly reiterate my appreciation for all the assistance that Sebastian Coe and his team have been giving us since the time of the Rio 2016 application bid," he said.

"We have learnt many lessons; many of them will stay and are very personal because they represent the victory of both cities, London and Rio.

"Cities that were not the favourites will be hosting the Games.

"The Rio 2016 team has been permanently assisted by the LOCOG in our frequent visits and trips to London, where we feel very well-received and have learnt a lot."

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