Beds for the Olympic and Paralympic Village can be extended for taller competitors ©Rio 2016/Alex Ferro

Former athletes have been aiding preparations for this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro by helping to implement measures which they hope will ensure the athletes will only have to focus on their performances.

Brazilian Olympians Giovane Gávio and Sebastián Cuattrin, a former canoeist, are among those who have been employed by Rio 2016, to reflect on their experiences of their appearances at past Olympics and offer solutions to potential problems.

Gávio, winner of Olympics gold medals at Barcelona 1992 and Athens 2004 as part of the men’s volleyball team, is overseeing the competitions for the sport and is hoping to put into place measures to ensure the changing rooms are perfect for athletes ahead of competition.

“The thing is to guarantee that everything is in place both before and after the action, because the athletes must focus on the court, that’s where it gets serious,” the double Olympic champion said.

“I would really like to have a few snacks in the changing rooms, small sandwiches, like they do in Japan.

“A few chocolates, the physical trainer wouldn’t like it very much, but at this time, an hour before competition, it’s good to have something to nibble on.”

The team of former athletes helping Rio de Janeiro with its preparations for this year's Olympics and Paralympics is led by two-time Olympic runner Agberto Guimarães ©Rio 2016/Karen Dias
The team of former athletes helping Rio de Janeiro with its preparations for this year's Olympics and Paralympics is led by two-time Olympic runner Agberto Guimarães ©Rio 2016/Karen Dias

The team of former athletes, led by the Organising Committee's executive director of sport Agberto Guimarães, was established to help fulfil promise of Rio 2016 that the “athletes are at the heart of our planning”, with small details such having clear signage at venues for athletes being detailed as vital.

It was raised to the vast number of areas the athletes will need to visit in addition to their competition venues, such as anti-doping, medical departments and athlete tribunes, with the signs aimed at preventing them for getting lost.

Ensuring that transport arrives as close as possible to the venue doors, equipping the athlete lounges with match information, wi-fi and sofas have also been highlighted as key.

Providing a plentiful supply of food and places for athletes to sit in the stands have also been put forward by the group, while Rio 2016 have opted to have beds, in the Athletes’ Village, which can be lengthened for taller athletes.

“We tested the beds and saw that we’d need some 2.2 metres in length,” said Paulinho Villas Boas, a two-time Olympian and Rio 2016 basketball manager.

“But these would be tricky to fit into lifts and through doors.

“So we opted for two-metre beds that can be lengthened to 2.2m, it’s done using a separate part, which makes transport easier.”