Rio De Janeiro Gets the Olympics! - Page 7

On July 27 2016 15:35 Chr15t wrote:
If the conditions are truly as described; Corruption in the police, Insufficient security. Rampant crime and deceases, a economic recession and critically sub-poor living conditions - i find it, (slightly) hurtful to my sanity, that no one in the IOC, or otherwise IS SERIOUSLY contemplating pulling the brakes on this one ..

I might be young and naive - but this seems to be so ill advised. I know that the 2008 OL in China got a lot of criticism for the way that the handled the preperations going into the OL. And at that time people were talking about boicutting it. But unless my view is rose-tainted of the past - this is BEYOND that scope.. So exactly WHAT is happening . T_T

On top of concerns over substandard Olympic village accommodation, athletes have been warned that Rio’s aquatic sites remain contaminated.

Government and Olympic officials admit efforts to treat sewage and clear garbage from Guanabara Bay and the city’s beaches have been insufficient, prompting warnings from health experts.

The bay will host the sailing and windsurfing events at next month’s Olympics.

Scientists say the waters are filled with a host of pathogens and viruses with recent tests showing it is more contaminated than first thought, The New York Times reported.

One doctor told The Times that athletes will “literally be swimming in human crap”.

Paediatrician Daniel Becker also warned they were at risk of getting sick from microorganisms and toxins in the water.

Health experts have advised competitors to keep their mouths shut.

The Australia team’s problems with their accommodation in the Olympic village have gone from bad to worse. Having initially refused to move into their building because of concerns over “blocked toilets, leaking pipes and exposed wiring”, they have now become victims of theft having been forced to evacuate their rooms because of a fire. To make it worse, they claim the fire alarms had been deactivated.

Two laptops and team shirts were stolen from the Australia team’s accommodation on Friday night when a fire started in the basement. The team suspect the fire was caused by a cigarette being carelessly tossed into rubbish by a worker. Around 100 of the team and staff left the building for half an hour, which is when the thefts are alleged to have taken place.

“We did lose some shirts and a couple of laptops, one on the fifth floor from a cycling official and one in the office downstairs,” the Australian Olympic Committee spokesman Mike Tancred said on Sunday.

However, the Australians are angrier that the fire alarms had been deactivated. They claim that the veteran shooter Warren Potent slept through the fire and was not woken by knocks on his door or phone calls.

Kitty Chiller, the Australian chef de mission, said: “Obviously that is completely unacceptable that a) the fire alarm was disabled and b) that if it had to be, that we weren’t warned about that.” The team have now elected fire wardens for each floor of the 18-storey building.

The Rio mayor, Eduardo Paes, had previously sought to play down the Australian team’s concerns before this latest incident. He told the athletes that perhaps they might be more comfortable if he installed a kangaroo. Chiller responded by giving Paes a toy kangaroo in return.

On August 02 2016 00:09 amazingxkcd wrote:
just saw news about the sailing ramp collapsing
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/01/olympic-sailing-ramp-in-rio-de-janeiro-collapses

Open water swimming and sailing only need few tablespoons of water to contract infections:
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/rio-2016-water-pollution-virus-risk-danger-swimming-sailing-rowing-chance-of-infection-almost-a7165866.html

On August 02 2016 02:36 LegalLord wrote:
So are all teams still going despite obvious poor preparation?

I remember a significant protest by Brazilians shortly after they got the games asking them to revoke their decision because the country wasn't ready and it would fail and fuck over the country. I feel more and more that those protesters were spot on.

Just days before the start of the Olympic Games the waterways of Rio de Janeiro are as filthy as ever, contaminated with raw human sewage teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria, according to a 16-month-long study commissioned by The Associated Press.

Not only are some 1,400 athletes at risk of getting violently ill in disciplines such as sailing and open water swimming, but the AP’s tests indicate that tourists also face potentially serious health risks on the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana.

The AP’s survey of the aquatic Olympic and Paralympic venues has revealed consistent and dangerously high levels of viruses from the pollution, a major black eye on Rio’s Olympic project that has set off alarm bells among sailors, rowers and open-water swimmers.

The first results of the study published over a year ago showed viral levels at up to 1.7m times what would be considered problematic in the United States or Europe. At those concentrations, swimmers and athletes who ingest just three teaspoons of water are almost certain to be infected with viruses that can cause stomach and respiratory illnesses and more rarely heart and brain inflammation — although whether they actually fall ill depends on a series of factors including the strength of the individual’s immune system.

Since the AP released the initial results last July, athletes have been taking elaborate precautions to prevent illnesses that could potentially knock them out of the competition, including preventatively taking antibiotics, bleaching oars and donning plastic suits and gloves in a bid to limit contact with the water.

But antibiotics combat bacterial infections, not viruses. And the AP investigation found that infectious adenovirus readings — tested with cell cultures and verified with molecular biology protocols — turned up at nearly 90% of the test sites over 16 months of testing.

“That’s a very, very, very high percentage,” said Dr Valerie Harwood, chair of the department of integrative biology at the University of South Florida. “Seeing that level of human pathogenic virus is pretty much unheard of in surface waters in the US. You would never, ever see these levels because we treat our waste water. You just would not see this.”

While athletes take precautions, there is also concern for the 300,000-500,000 foreigners expected to descend on Rio for the Olympics. Testing at several of the city’s world-famous beaches has shown that in addition to persistently high viral loads, the beaches often have levels of bacterial markers for sewage pollution that would be cause for concern abroad — and sometimes even exceed Rio state’s lax water safety standards.

In light of the AP’s findings, Harwood had one piece of advice for travelers to Rio: “Don’t put your head underwater.” Swimmers who cannot heed that advice stand to ingest water through their mouths and noses and therefore risk “getting violently ill,” she said.

On August 02 2016 04:43 Necro)Phagist( wrote:
Reading the first page of this thread is almost heart breaking. People excited for Rio and the OP happy for their city and wanting the world to see it. Now all this, just ouch.