RIO DE JANEIRO // If your eyes are sharp enough at 5am on Saturday morning, you will notice during the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony that one particular member of the UAE delegation will be missing as his compatriots circle the illustrious Maracana Stadium.
Yousif Mirza, the Emirati cyclist competing in his first Games, has reluctantly decided to skip the curtain-raiser in order to be fully rested for Saturday’s road race event. With his decision made but his absence dampening his spirit, he found special significance in a short ceremony held on Thursday to welcome the UAE into the exclusive Olympic Village.
“I have known for some days that I will miss the official Opening Ceremony because my event is early in the morning the day after,” Mirza, 27, said.
“I had hoped to attend, but it is not possible, so I am glad I got to at least see this ceremony.”
At the entrance to the Village, a 20-minute performance started with an eerie, tribal dance before giving way to a range of fun and fast-paced Brazilian musical styles, such as samba, funk and bossa nova. When the music stopped, a short speech was given by a former Brazil Olympian, who touched on the importance of the Games to humanity before inviting Mohammed Al Kamali, general-secretary of the UAE National Olympic Committee, to the stage.
As the country’s national anthem, Ishy Baladi (Long Live My Nation), played from the sound system, the Brazilian military raised the UAE flag and the Emirates delegation raised their phones to capture the moment.
More from the UAE at Rio 2016:
• Meet the team: The 13 athletes representing the UAE
• Rio 2016 TV: How to watch the Olympics in the UAE + schedules
• Schedule: When the UAE athletes will compete in Rio
Al Kamali then added his name to the Olympics Truce Mural, which has now been signed by all 207 delegations competing at the Games.
“It was very nice,” Mirza said. “It was my first time to see something like this, so it made me very proud to see our flag going up in the sky here in Rio and to hear the anthem. It was a great Welcome Ceremony.
“Music is so traditional here — everywhere I go in Brazil I hear this music, so it was very nice. And because I will miss the official ceremony, I am glad I got to see something like this. It has made me want to really achieve something for my country.”
A favourable result on Saturday will be easier said than done. The Union of Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the sport’s world governing body, called Rio’s 241.5-kilometre race “one of the hardest one-day events the sport has ever known”, while Vitor Carvalho, Mirza’s Portuguese coach, conceded the best hope for his rider is to get him in the breakaway group so he can showcase the country on the television in the early stages.
“Yousif is going to face a tough day at the office, but if we can get him into the breakaway, it will allow us to show the world that the UAE is represented in cycling here at the Olympic Games,” he said. “And if we can get ahead of the peloton, maybe when the main group catches us, he has already passed the most difficult part of the course and can stay with the bigger guys.”
Mirza and Carvalho have already met some of the so-called “bigger guys”.
They cycled alongside Fabian Cancellara, the serial Tour de France stage-winner, during training on Wednesday and later shared a dinner table with tennis superstar Rafael Nadal in the Village.
“The spirit is very nice here because we can see the big names in sport and everyone is under the same roof. Some of the guys have been speaking with them and getting photos,” Carvalho said.
Nada Al Bedwawi, the 18-year-old Emirati swimmer, is one such celebrity-spotter. The UAE flag-bearer readily admits she has spent her first few days “hunting for famous swimmers as if I’m hunting for Pokémon”. And she is apparently as talented at this pursuit as she is in the pool.
“I met my role model, the Egyptian swimmer Farida Osman, and I saw Michael Phelps during the training session — I was in the neighbouring lane,” Al Bedwawi said. “I also met the first female Qatari swimmer, Nada Arakaji, so it’s been really great. I feel so motivated right now to just get back home and start preparing for the next Olympics. It’s an overwhelming feeling.”
The Village is made up of 31 tower blocks, each rising as high as 17 storeys — think Jumeirah Beach Residence but with 18,000 athletes, coaches and physios instead of businesspeople and babies. Many of the buildings in the complex — called Ilha Pura (Pure Island) — are now covered in national flags and other patriotic branding. The UAE athletes, who share a tower with Usain Bolt and his Jamaica team, have coloured their two balconies with black, red, white and green cloth.
The complex also houses a 24-hour gym, several outdoor pools, a multi-faith centre catering to Islamic, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu faiths, and a vast food hall serving Brazilian, Italian, East Asian and Indian food. There is also a plaza that contains a florist, bank, post office, hairdresser and beauty salon, supermarket, a sandy area with loungers and beach volleyball court and even a complimentary fast food outlet — which is always worryingly busy.
“It is my first time ever trying McDonalds because we don’t have it in my country,” said one West African athlete, who it would be too cruel to identify. Munching into a McChicken burger with French fries and a Coke, she added: “I adore it, but if my coach knew I was eating this he would send me home.”
With the three UAE judokas — Ivan Remarenco, Victor Scvortov and Sergiu Toma — and two female athletes — Betlhem Desaleyn and Alia Saeed — having used training facilities in Sao Paulo this week, coupled with shooter Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum’s voluntary late arrival, the coaches have been able to easily keep an eye on the Rio-based athletes. Carvalho said he had no problem if Mirza visited McDonald’s, but trusted him not to push his luck.
“I think he will only go for a coffee, certainly nothing more,” he said. “I am quite strict on diet and the athletes know this. I always tell them, weight is everything in cycling: one extra kilo you put in your body is one extra kilo you have to take with you when you go climbing — and you don’t want that.”
Carvalho did concede, however, that he would allow Mirza a special celebratory McDonald’s following the race. “After seven hours and 241km on the bike, sure, he can have a burger — he’ll deserve it,” he said. “But 100 per cent not before.”
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