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Because raw sewage is just dumped into the ocean, not to mention it being where people dump all all sorts of trash as well as dead animals, swimmers and other water-related athletes in the 2016 Olympics face a tremendous risk of infection as a result.
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This is an Olympic sized problem, as athletes who participate in water sports will carry, in the words of Kristina Mena, an expert in waterborne viruses, “an infection risk of 99 percent.” As of this writing not one of the many water venues has been deemed safe for swimming or boating with waterborne virus levels in the water amounting to 1.7 million times the level of what would be dangerous in Southern California.
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The rivers, streams, and oceans are filled with floating feces, as the raw sewage of the city is, per custom, pumped directly into the water. Even the most pristine appearing of beaches are, in the words of an Associated Press report, “thick with putrid sludge.” And its Olympic lake, Rodrigo de Freitas, is “littered with rotting fish.”
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Austrian sailors who practiced briefly in the Rio waters left the experience with violent vomiting, fevers, diarrhea and IVs in their arms. And these are the sailors. Imagine those who compete in what is called “The Olympic Marathon,” a 10 kilometer race that means two hours in this water for competitors.
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Brazil is one of the wealthiest nations on earth: a 21st century ascendant power with a 19th century sewage system. One of the cruelest lies of this World Cup/Olympic experience in Rio is that hosting these international sporting events was sold to the people in part by saying that it would provide an opportunity to finally upgrade their waste management system.
Brazilians training here agree.
“It can get really disgusting, with dog carcasses in some places and the water turning brown from sewage contamination,” said Thomas Low-Beer, 24, a Brazilian Olympic hopeful who sails in the bay. He shuddered when recalling how his dinghy crashed into what he believed was a partly submerged sofa, capsizing him into the murky Guanabara.
Though international officials complain that Brazil has had almost five years since winning its Olympic bid to make headway, some of the delays stem from chronic problems the nation has long fought.
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Ivan Bulaja, a Croatian-born coach of Austria's 49er-class sailing team, told the AP that his athletes have been sick vomiting and with diarrhea because of Guanabara Bay's water conditions.
"This is by far the worst water quality we've ever seen in our sailing careers," Bulaja said.
At least 13 have fallen ill so far from the USA. From what I gather, the team was a bit lax on enforcement of safety rules. Some of the other crew members from other countries were bagging their water bottles, This does not bode well for the future though.
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