A giant pipe running from downtown churns human waste into the marina at certain times each day. Last year, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes conceded the city’s original plan to rid the waters of pollution wasn’t going to be met.
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After cruising to five golds in London four years ago, China will land in Brazil with a full contingent of 10 lifters and all but three have won Olympic or world championship titles – highlighting the nation’s depth in multiple weight classes. “I thought this was a chance to do something for the legacy”.
“It smelled like (expletive) because it was full of (expletive)”, Goldfeld told USA TODAY Sports. They pledged to remove and treat 80 percent of the sewage in the waterways by 2016. The latest concern to be raised is the unhygienic condition of the Guanabara Bay, which will host the sailing and wind-surfing events at the next month’s Games. The conditions can only improve so much in a short period of time. It will just be a minimal risk to the athletes.
Researchers at the Federal University of Rio also found serious contamination at the famous beaches of Ipanema and Leblon, which numerous half a million Olympic spectators are expected to visit.
Recent tests by government and independent scientists revealed a veritable petri dish of pathogens in numerous city’s waters, from rotaviruses that can cause diarrhea and vomiting to drug-resistant “superbacteria” that can be fatal to people with weakened immune systems.
“In the country they have an impressive amount of good lifters so even internally the competition is tough”, Lilla Rozgonyi of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), the sport’s governing body, told Reuters.
Imagine an athlete who trained their entire life for this one olympic moment and all of that sacrifice coming to a screeching halt because of a few pieces of trash in the water.
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“I feel very excited. I’m far more concerned for the people who live there, who were made these grand promises to improve their environment….For those promises not to be delivered on is appalling to me”.
