Almost a third of the women’s water polo team, which arrived Monday in Rio de Janeiro and is considered a strong contender for a medal, is in quarantine because of a gastrointestinal illness players picked up in Rome. 100 000 spectators are expected to flock to the Maracana stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies alone.
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James Chiengjiek is one of the 10 athletes competing as refugees after impressing during trials at the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya past year, and says that he is hoping to send a message to displaced people the world over.
Asked if NBC could/should have leveraged its financial clout with the International Olympic Committee to get the Games moved or postponed, as more than a hundred doctors internationally had advocated a couple months earlier, Costas said he was not dodging the question but was not qualified to answer. “I never would want to offend the host country”.
But there will be a minimal presence from Britain, with the BOA admitting that athletes are more likely to want to focus on their events than wait around on their feet for hours.
“Will you take a dip yourself?”
“Absolutely not”, she replied.
Olympics chief Thomas Bach has said that he has full confidence in Rio to maintain security.
According to a 16-month study conducted by the Associated Press, the waters surrounding Rio de Janeiro contain “consistent and dangerously high levels” of adenoviruses; five times the acceptable limit in California. “No other team should intimidate our team”. “I’m not very interested”.
While Asian Games 100m bronze medallist Barakat will be hoping to do his best in the 100m race, fellow athlete Mazoon Al Alawi will be making her debut at the Olympics in the women’s sprint event. And, Costas added, NBC News is there “in full force, led by Lester Holt”.
The US delegation exclusively reserved all the cabins on board the vessel for the Olympics, and the ship, with all its amenities and attractions, will become practically a floating US embassy during the Games.
“Honestly, I can’t feel that the Zika virus would be their reason not to go, the Zika virus is in Florida”, said Van Zyl, number 71 in the world ranking.
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“The security costs are rising much quicker than the revenue that’s coming in from TV and tickets”, NYU professor and former National Basketball Association executive David Kahn told CNN, “This has been by far the saddest, most sorrowful runup to any Olympics we’ve had in modern time”.
