2016 Rio Olympics: Water unsafe for sailing/rowing sports?

[clairecloutier]

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/dec/02/rio-olympics-2016-water-pollution

This is literally rather disgusting. The waters around Rio are apparently, by some measures, highly contaminated with raw sewage. This poses a threat to athletes competing in sailing/rowing events.

 

[Skittl1321]

Aren't there open water swimming events? That sounds way more disgusting than rowing/sailing (where at least you only are fully immersed in the water if you make a mistake...)


And yeah- they have known about this for a long time. This is truly disgusting.

 

[ilovepaydays]

Wasn't there similar concerns about the water and quality in Beijing? I think a number of medal favorites in the marathon withdrew because they were asthmatic and didn't want to take the risk. But I believe things were "relatively" cleaned up for the Games.

 

[Buzz]

I hope they clean up the water in time.

 

[misskarne]

IIRC, the rowing worlds were held there earlier this year and both the Australian and USA teams came down sick from the water. I remember something about it because the actual rowing team was very pissy with the AOC who had their bigwigs up there proclaiming that nothing was wrong while the rowers were all quite ill.

 

[Fridge_Break]

I got an ESPN notification on my phone yesterday that said this:

IOC member Anita DeFrantz blames ice cream, not Rio's water for U.S. junior rowers' illness in August.

 

[clairecloutier]

More on Rio:

http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2015/12/03/rio-olympics-air-conditioning-athlete-village/

--Athletes will not get air conditioning in their rooms in Olympic Village unless their federations pay for it
--Electricity for the Games may come from temporary generators (as they have not yet signed a contract for a company to provide power)

 

[Buzz]

 

[Buzz]

Rio organizers have changed their minds and will provide free A/C.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/rio-or...provide-free-a-c-in-olympic-village-1.2686979

 

[maatTheViking]

I'm more concerned about the generators .

That seems... odd, and potentially quite polluting, though I don't know how much 'green' energy power companies in Brazil can supply.

I still can't get over the fact that one of the reasons Oslo retracted the winter bid was the demands of the IOC officials for special cars and lanes and everything.

I love the Olympics for the athletes, but the whole 'olympic movement' thing has soured a little for me.

 

[Seerek]

Not that this will likely help matters at all, but there appears to be no water events on the Rio Test Event schedule until next April.

(Last weekend was the slalom canoe/kayak Test Event in Rio, but that was held in a self-contained man-made whitewater stadium)

 

[barbk]

I'm more concerned about the generators .

That seems... odd, and potentially quite polluting, though I don't know how much 'green' energy power companies in Brazil can supply.

I still can't get over the fact that one of the reasons Oslo retracted the winter bid was the demands of the IOC officials for special cars and lanes and everything.

I love the Olympics for the athletes, but the whole 'olympic movement' thing has soured a little for me.

Watching what the IOC demanded when they took over our office building for their headquarters at the 88 Olympics, I could not agree more.

A more entitled group of snobs would be harder to find.

 

[misskarne]

Not that this will likely help matters at all, but there appears to be no water events on the Rio Test Event schedule until next April.

(Last weekend was the slalom canoe/kayak Test Event in Rio, but that was held in a self-contained man-made whitewater stadium)

I would not blame the outdoor water athletes in the slightest if they refused to compete in these conditions. And I wish the national bodies would have enough balls to say, "No, it was your bloody water making our athletes sick, DO something about it!"

 

[jiejie]

Wasn't there similar concerns about the water and quality in Beijing? I think a number of medal favorites in the marathon withdrew because they were asthmatic and didn't want to take the risk. But I believe things were "relatively" cleaned up for the Games.

Air quality was the concern in Beijing, not water quality. The endurance swimming and the triathlon event took place at a pretty clean reservoir outside the city. The rowing and canoeing events at a purpose-built, self-contained facility. The sailing events were held in open water at Qingdao on the coast, quite far away from Beijing. Qingdao actually had problems with green algae blooms around the sailing venue in the weeks leading up to the 2008 Games (a seasonal problem there), but it was cleaned up in time for the events. Rio seems to have much more serious water issues at their venues, but the physical setup is different.

 

[jersey1302]

They way its being put.. Its like they are holding the olympics in a third world country. I know Brazil has many many poor parts and the gap between rich and poor is monstrous but Brazil realistically is not a poor country government wise.. is it?

 

[genevieve]

New article on the polluted waters that aren't likely to be entirely cleaned up in time for the Games:
http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/sto...pic-training-competition-sites-rio-de-janiero

Outside the Lines obtained a confidential U.S. Olympic Committee planning document written in October 2015 that states, "The USOC has ongoing concerns over possible existing viral and bacterial contaminants in the water. ... The USOC remains hopeful, but we do not expect to anticipate major reductions [italics are the USOC's] in bacterial or viral pathogen levels at the competition venues.

 

[misskarne]

So the water-based athletes must now choose between their own health and competing in the biggest event of their lives. Way to go, IOC.

 

[rhapsody]

New article on the polluted waters that aren't likely to be entirely cleaned up in time for the Games:
http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/sto...pic-training-competition-sites-rio-de-janiero

"'A little bit of diarrhea is worth a gold medal' is something that I've heard from athletes out there."

Extra incentive to not fall in the water, I guess.

 

[barbk]

I wonder whether the physicians for the Olympic teams will advise sailing, rowing and kayaking competitors to shower and wash up with Hibiclens before and after venturing onto the water. It apparently provides about 6 hours of protection against some bacteria (such as MRSA) and some viruses (like influenza) from sticking to the skin:

"Clinical studies have shown that a 4% CHG solution, such as HIBICLENS, can help reduce facility infection rates, resulting in a significant economic gain.1 This antimicrobial antiseptic skin cleanser can be an effective defense for preventing the spread of MRSA2 and other staph infections in your facilities. Its active ingredient, chlorhexidine gluconate, works in a unique way - it kills germs on contact3 and bonds with the skin4 to keep killing microorganisms even after washing."

It wouldn't do anything for inhaled or ingested pathogens.