The first thing you'll notice is the track: it's blue. Go figure.
Rio was always going to be a different games -Â samba, Zika, g-strings and feathers - but they have also brought colour and a new look. Â
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It's the first time the Olympic athletics track has been blue and not terracotta brick red.
There is no real reason why it has changed other than that the Rio organisers wanted a blue track. It is up to the host to decide things such as this and the Cariocas decided on blue.
![Athletics blue track](/web/20160813233035im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/r/m/t/1/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gqrmmk.png/1471047367992.jpg)
It is the first time since the Moscow World Championships in 2013 that the track for a major world athletics meet has been blue. That blue track worked out alright for Australia – Sally Pearson won silver on it. And on the field ringed by the blue track Kim Mickle threw her way to silver.
The Italian company that laid the track, Mondo, prefers blue so that might have something to do with the choice also. Indoors tracks are often blue.
Mondo laid the tracks for the London games and the Beijing World Championships last year but each of these were en tout cas red.
The synthetic track was designed, according to organisers, to take into account Rio's hot and humid conditions.
Andrea Vallauri, head of the sport division at Mondo, said the company used nano-technology to make molecular modifications to the formula of the track.
The track appears to be working out well: on the first morning Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana broke the world record in the 10,000m and the first 12 runners in the race all ran personal bests - including Australia's Eloise Wellings.Â
Of course it sort of matched the mood of Australia's mens 800m runners who were all knocked out in the heats on day one. They felt particularly, well, blue.