RIO DE JANEIRO — Just at 10 a.m., the waves at Copacabana Beach crashing close enough to be heard, an Italian man hit a high, spinning ball toward the sun, and the premier sport at the Summer Olympics was underway.
There were not many people in the seats yet — Rio is not an early riser — but there was the Portuguese patter of announcers, the gut-thumping beat of music, and the slow, silent slinking of a gunmetal military ship just offshore, pacing back and forth.
Much, much later, the clocks well past midnight and a ship still slinking in the dark sea, visible only by a few lights, another batch of fans put a celebratory exclamation mark on the Olympics’ longest day.