Ireland’s Olympic team Chef de Mission Kevin Kilty has revealed that the mood in the Irish camp is positive as athletes prepare to get down to business.
The 2016 Olympic Games get underway on Saturday with the rowers, cyclists and hockey team among those in action in the first few days of the event.
Kilty admits that focus is starting to sharpen among the athletes but insists that there’s still a jovial mood within Team Ireland.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, the Chef de Mission said: “Tuesday was a busy day, we had swimming coming down from Uberlandia where they had their training camp. We had Dan Martin in yesterday, we having Katie Taylor coming in today with Oliver Dingley from diving, so it’s really ramping up.
"One of the jobs we have to do is go up and meet everyone in the welcome centre, meet them and bring them down but it’s a great part of what we do.
“It’s fairly upbeat. One or two athletes are now conscious of the fact that we’re coming up to the games and you can see them switching to their competition mode.
“They’re getting really focused and that stare is coming into them but this is a good place to do that. It’s a very friendly atmosphere, athletes are very supporting and when you need space you have it.”
Kilty believes that the Olympic Council of Ireland have put everything in place to help the athletes perform to the best of their abilities and praised the set-up within the athlete’s village, which had been cause for concern in the build-up to the games.
“We have plenty of facilities in here to help athletes go from training to pre-competiton and finally to competition.
“We have a social space downstairs which is very much for the team to go down and relax. We have a veranda area right behind, we have chairs dotted around the place and even in their own apartments they have quiet places.”
Team Ireland’s base within the Olympic village is quick becoming one of the landmarks in the area, with the building festooned with Irish flags and Kilty revealed that it has become a talking point among other teams.
“We really put a special effort to branding up the building,” he said.
“From the front of the building we have the tricolour on all of our balconies and you can see it from anywhere in the village.
“It’s been commented upon by a lot of other people who have asked: 'How did you guys actually do that?'
“But a little bit of forward planning and forward thinking and you can work wonders here.”
