Rio was a period of my life, and then, poof, I'm gone. I was very young living here, just kind of floating. New York was a foundation for everything I do today. Rio was the bridge.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Rio's a beautiful city, a vibrant place, special place.
Every time I drive into Rio from the airport, I see the city for the first time and think how strange it is.
Right after high school, I moved to Rio and took classes to become a technician for a manufacturing factory where you had to figure out how to produce 3,000 pairs of jeans. But in Rio, I was by myself, which was very liberating, being so young. I got to do my own thing.
I think about Rio every day. Every day in training, it's something that drives me forward. I want to be Olympic champion.
I'm moving to Rio permanently with my family. It's one of the places left in the world where people still live with a big charge of poetry on a daily basis. I feel we've kind of lost that here in Europe.
I first came to Brazil in the Sixties. Then I started coming back every year since touring most of the country. I grew to love it, the people, the music. I thought this is where I belong. I've been living in Brazil for the past 23 years. I call it my stress-free country.
I have the best job in the world. I wake up every morning energized at the thought of running Rio de Janeiro, the most exciting city on the planet.
I've always known that Rio and Tokyo are my two Olympics. Now that Rio hasn't gone to plan, Tokyo has to work, and I'm more motivated than ever.
The first record I bought with my own money was Rio.
I'm really, really excited heading towards Rio.