Rio Olympics already tainted with poo

Despite widespread crime, polluted water, and unfinished stadiums, “Team USA is full speed ahead”, said USOC Senior Director of Communications Mark Jones at a Rio 2016 Olympic Games press conference today.

“This is by far the worst water quality we’ve ever seen in our sailing careers”, said Ivan Bulaja, a coach for the Austrian team, which has spent months training on the Guanabara Bay, ABC News reported. The state environmental agency declined to comment.

An Associated Press investigation has revealed that the water that many athletes will be swimming and boating in during next year’s Summer Olympics is so contaminated, that there’s a risk they could become violently ill.

However the Brazilian government’s own water testing shows that on June 25 water at the famous Copacabana Beach was above legal bacteria limits. He examined the AP’s test results.

A risk assessment conducted for the AP by a U.S. expert said athletes who ingest just three teaspoons of water (16 milliliters) have a 99-percent chance of being infected by a virus.

Spilki tested for three types of human adenovirus, rotavirus, and enterovirus.

With these risky levels in the water, it could knock out an athlete for days and can really disturb their training regimen.

However Brazilians officials have given repeated assurances that the water will be safe for the Olympic athletes.

Ashley did not mention specific measures being taken in advance of Olympic test events and qualifiers in triathlon, sailing and open-water swimming scheduled for August in Rio.

The health and safety of the competing athletes is paramount and responses have been implemented from concerns raised by both Member National Authorities (MNAs) and sailors from previous events, including the 2014 Aquece Rio, the first of two sailing test events that was held in August 2014.

The global Olympic Committee said in a statement that it was in continual dialogue with organizers on ensuring the waters were clean enough.

Vera Oliveira, head of water monitoring for Rio’s municipal environmental secretariat, said officials are not testing viral levels at the Olympic lake, the water quality of which is the city’s responsibility.

“If I were going to be in the Olympics”, said Griffith, the California water expert, “I would probably go early and get exposed and build up my immunity system to these viruses before I had to compete, because I don’t see how they’re going to solve this sewage problem”.

An Olympic triathlon qualifying event in Rio de Janeiro is Sunday, featuring U.S. gold-medal favorite Gwen Jorgensen. It guaranteed an acceptable level of water quality in the race lanes, although not at the marina where the boats would set sail.

Because conditions of ocean waters tend to be volatile, it is hard to determine just how much of a risk athletes faced swimming in the water on Friday, said David Zee, an oceanography professor at Rio’s state university.