As track and field began at the Rio Olympics, one thing stood out right away.
The track is blue.
As you've probably noticed, Rio de Janeiro does things a little bit differently. It is a city full of flair, and that is exactly what it wanted to add to its track.
It is the first time in Olympic history that the track has not been the traditional red brick color.
Why do it? Because they can.
There is no rule by the IAAF, the sport's governing body, that states what color the track must be. All it says is that it must be one, consistent color.
It's consistent alright.
So Rio took full advantage and decided to make a unique blue backdrop for the track athletes (kind of like the green backdrop for the divers, but that was unintentional).
Blue tracks are not all that uncommon, but usually for the sport's major meets, they'll keep the track its signature color. The last time a track was blue at a major meet was at the Moscow World Championships in 2013.
The athletes couldn't care less. All they are thinking about is one color: Gold.
