Share

Rio Olympics: one year away and mayor says all will be ready

There are debates over whether Olympics are good for cities or burdensome vanity projects, but in Rio the occasion has been an opportunity to escape decades of under-investment, Nuzman said.

Advertisement

Before, the IOC and local Olympic organizers in Rio said they would only test for bacteria in the water, as Brazil and virtually all nations only mandate such testing to determine the safety of recreational waters.

Today marks one year until the opening ceremonies of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where equestrian sport will celebrate 104 years in the Olympic movement at the first games to be held in South America.

“There is not a single person that is not enthusiastic about these games because they saw how well we did and what we delivered in London”, Winter said, “and the enthusiasm of a live games”.

“That’s in the past and what we’re trying to do is provide the best possible framework to move forward and provide a performance-focussed, respect, values-based environment for the future”. He said the conditions were suitable, according to bacterial tests, which is all that was required until the WHO issued new guidelines following the AP study.

Certainly for this upcoming Test Event the venue is going to be a bit of a challenge, as the building goes on around us. “That’s my plan”.

“Don’t come here wanting Swiss, Swedish or Danish levels of development, we are not there – but we have advanced a lot in recent years”, he added. Three are in the open Atlantic and could be used if the bay is found to be unsuitable. That depends upon a person’s immune system and a number of other factors.

Winter said demand for online ads is expected to exceed capacity, even with a 75 percent increase in inventory over the 2012 London games. And controversies such as concerns over the water quality at competition sites in Rio tend to only remind fans that the Summer Games are coming soon.

“It’s been an interesting learning experience over the last few days”.

But Timson is confident the work undertaken with athletes will ensure Team GB have no problems with members of their team becoming involved in doping.

Advertisement

Equestrian governing body the FEI said in a statement it was “aware of the situation”, which now posed “no threat”. “Ultimately too much money has been invested”. This, he said, was “a conflict of information” with the dire headlines about unhealthy water.

View of the Deodoro Olympic Park under construction which will host several sports during the Rio 2016 Olympics Games in Rio Brazil