John Furlong, chairman of Own the Podium, met with officials in Calgary on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming Olympic games in Rio.DARRYL DYCK/The Globe and Mail
Brazil's government may have slashed its Olympic security budget by a hefty $550-million (U.S.), but the chairman of Canada's Own The Podium program believes Canadian athletes will be well treated and protected when the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics begin in August.
John Furlong, formerly CEO of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, was in Calgary for a Wednesday meeting with OTP sports officials to cover a variety of preparations – from setting high medal-count expectations to teaching athletes how to avoid distractions in a city known for its partying.
"Our intelligence on Rio is pretty good. There will be some things going on around Rio that will be quite distracting," said Furlong. "We need the [Canadian] teams to be really focused and not get set back by a lot of talk they will confront there."
Securing the Games and keeping it free of catastrophe moved to the top of the organizers' to do list after Brazil took a 30 per cent slice out of its security budget earlier this week. That dashed hopes for an Urban Pacification Police unit to ensure safety in Mare, the slum neighbourhood near the Rio airport. That has left 48,000 police and firefighters, plus 38,000 armed troops, as Brazil's response to a possible terrorist attack.
Officials have said those security numbers are double what London used four years ago. Paulo Storani, a former Rio police officer, told the CBC that Brazil has never had a terrorist bombing and may feel it has matters under control.
"If we depend on the structure that is being prepared for these Games, we are extremely vulnerable to these attacks, just like what happened in Paris and Brussels," said Storani.
The OTP meeting in Calgary covered a lot topics – specifically, the number of medals the Canadian team will take home. The goal is to better what Canada did in London (18 medals, one gold) and in Beijing four years earlier (19 medals, three gold). That could place Canada somewhere in the top-12 medal-winning nations.
"We look at the broad range of opportunities. We go where the potential is. Our goal is to finish in a higher position than we did last time," Furlong said. "We feel like we're well suited for that. Big finish is the big thing now."
The Canadian Olympic Committee has yet to announce its Rio lineup. Some sport organizations, such as Swimming Canada, are still qualifying.