​Guanabara Bay water still overrun by sewage as Rio Olympics loom

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Guanabara Bay water still overrun by sewage as Rio Olympics loom

Martin Rogers, USA TODAY Sports 12:56 p.m. EDT July 26, 2016
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?It smelled like (expletive) because it was full of (expletive),? Goldfeld told USA TODAY Sports...
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Before the Games were awarded, there were pledges from organizers that 80% of sewage would be treated before being dumped into the bay, where sailing and open-water swimming events will be staged. Even the Games? own spin doctors long ago admitted that has no chance of happening.
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/07/26/rio-de-janeiro-dirty-water-sewage-guanabara-bay/87525622/

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Expert to Rio Athletes: 'Don't Put Your Head Under Water'

By JENNY BARCHFIELD, ASSOCIATED PRESS RIO DE JANEIRO ? Aug 1, 2016, 2:22 PM ET

Just days ahead of the Olympic Games the waterways of Rio de Janeiro are as filthy as ever, contaminated with raw human sewage teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria, according to a 16-month-long study commissioned by The Associated Press.

Not only are some 1,400 athletes at risk of getting violently ill in water competitions, but the AP's tests indicate that tourists also face potentially serious health risks on the golden beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana.

The AP's survey of the aquatic Olympic and Paralympic venues has revealed consistent and dangerously high levels of viruses from the pollution, a major black eye on Rio's Olympic project that has set off alarm bells among sailors, rowers and open-water swimmers.

In light of the findings, biomedical expert Valerie Harwood had one piece of advice for travelers to Rio: "Don't put your head under water."

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http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/expert-rio-athletes-dont-put-head-water-41037457

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CBS NEWS August 12, 2016, 6:48 AM

Dirty water may cost European athlete her Olympic medal
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Wil Van Bladel is head coach of the Belgian sailing team. He said his star sailor, Evi Van Acker, has been diagnosed with a severe intestinal infection. The team's doctor believes she got it from polluted water in the bay. Her coach said she's so weak, he doesn't know if she can be competitive.
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Renato Picao, a microbiologist who took us to parts of the bay near the Olympic events and said she would never swim in the water. Her scientific tests show alarming levels of super bacteria - the result of both sewage and medical waste from hospitals.
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"Almost half of what we generate goes raw into our water bodies and definitely goes to the bay and then to the beaches," Picao said.

"And that's essentially like just flushing a toilet into the water?" Tracy asked.

"Yes," Picao answered.
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http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rio-olympics-2016-evi-van-acker-belgium-sailor-infection-dirty-water