The functions venue, which will be called "The Edge", is just 1.3 kilometres away from the Olympic Village and will provide medical, physio, recovery, sport science and nutrition facilities for the squads.

It features two small pools, two half-size football fields, a half-size basketball court, three large indoor halls, offices and a commercial kitchen.

Australia will have exclusive use of the facility, after topping bids from the French and Russian Olympic Committees.

Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller believes The Edge could help Australia make it into the top five on the medal tally at the Olympics by providing much needed additional recovery areas.

"We need all the space in the Village for our athlete accommodation, headquarters offices, and medical staff," said the Sydney 2000 modern pentathlon Olympian.

"We just don't get the space."

The Edge is just 1.3 kilometres away from the Olympic Village ©AOC


The facility will also host Australian Olympic team inductions and once the Olympic Games finish on August 21, 2016, the AOC will hand the space over to the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC), which will continue working there with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) for the duration of the Paralympics on September 7 to 18.

"This is another strong example of the AOC, APC and AIS collaborating on Campaign Rio - an initiative aimed at being the 'Best planned; Best prepared; Best performed' Team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games," read a statement from the AOC.

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