Olympics Day 4

10pm – Chicago 2016 Presentation

We were invited to a presentation function at the USA House that evening – free drinks, canapés and a little SWAG (Stuff We All Get) bag. Our correspondent had to write his piece at the office so I was ushered to get a few quotes from the Mayor of Chicago. Our mission that night—get in, grab a drink, grab a few quotes, get out. Of course, I also grabbed myself some Team USA Kleenex tissues and a Team USA water bottle for my overtime.

There are 4 candidate cities contesting to host the 2016 Olympics and Chicago is one of them, running alongside Rio, Tokyo and Madrid. Each country has a House booked out during the entire Games season and the USA House took over Jasmine, a fancy restaurant inside the Workers Stadium. The Chicago 2016 reception was an opportunity to promote the 2016 bid to the media and push Chicago as the next Olympics destination. We were going to visit each of the country houses within the next week and everyone at the office seemed to be anticipating the big party at Brazil House. What can be more fun than being in a Rio carnival with Brazilian dancers and flowing alcohol?

Olympics Day 4

5pm – Cullen Jones Press Conference

Bank of America called a press conference for 4x100 Men’s relay swimmer Cullen Jones after the team’s Gold medal victory at the miraculous Water Cube, where 25 world records were broken. For press conferences like this, we decided to arrive earlier to secure a spot for the camera and avoid any unnecessary elbow fights for our cameraman.


Jones is the first African American to hold a world record in swimming. As records were smashed one after another at the Aquatic Centre this summer, media attention turned towards the many factors that made this Olympics a breakthrough for swimming.

First, there is the theory that the design of the water cube plays a role in increasing performance in the pool, making it the fastest pool in the world. It is 3 meters deep, a meter deeper than that of Athens, which allows swimmers to go faster with less drag.

Then, there is the Speedo LZR Racer suit, which was worn by all, except 2, of the record-breaking swimmers. Designed with NASA, the LZR Racer is said to be able to cut swimming time by up to 2%.

As Jones talked about his training days and dedication to swimming as a sport, he was quick to dismiss any thoughts about the suit being the main reason for his success. “What I can tell you is that, THE SUIT did not wake up at 5am in the morning for training. I did,” he reminded the crowd.

And he’s probably not the one to talk to for Speedo credits. After all, he wasn’t sponsored by the swimwear maker. Endorsements don’t go cheap at this Olympics.