Rio starts Olympic battle with a loss

Brazilian soldiers patrol along Ipanema Beach ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Monday. / Reuters-Yonhap

By Valter Junior

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil ― All critics during the build-up phase for the Rio Olympics were minimized by the organizers. But this perfect world with no worries proved to be wrong on the first day that really matters and the first major crisis has to be faced. The Athletes Village had many problems on its opening day, Sunday. Just a few minutes after people first checked in, the issues emerged.

Australians, all of them on the advance staff, said the apartments where uninhabitable and moved to nearby hotels. The country’s athletes will endure the same until Wednesday, when all the issues should be fixed and the Aussies are expected to return to the Village.

There were electricity wires and leaky plumbing concerns, a dangerous combination. They also protested about blocked toilets, darkened stairwells and dirty floors. The main problem was the danger caused by water and exposed wires.

On Saturday night, there was a stress test made by the Australians when many of the apartments were put to the test at same time. Toilets backed up. There was water leaking over the floors, proving that the complex is unfinished.

“This is my fifth Olympics Games, I have never experienced a village with this lack readiness this close to the games,” said the head of the Australian team, Kitty Chiller, in a statement.

As usual, the reaction of the Brazilian Olympic Committee was to play down issues, although, they admitted that failures had occurred.

“This might be one of the best Villages ever. It is natural that some adjustments have to be made,” acknowledged the president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman.

Out of timing, Rio de Janeiro’s mayor, Eduardo Paes, tried to make fun of the situation. “It is a celebration day. (The Village) is more beautiful than the Sidney village. We will make it so the Aussies will feel at home. I am almost bringing a kangaroo to jump around for them,” he said. The Australians replied that they don’t need kangaroos, only plumbers.

There are 500 people working 24 hours a day to solve all the problems before the majority of the athletes arrive. It doesn’t seem to be enough for the Italians, though. Their staff contracted on their own a service to deal with the structural problems. Gazzetta dello Sport said that Athletes’ Village was in chaos on its first day.

Altogether, 900 people from 6 countries, including South Korea, arrived at the complex, only 200 of them are athletes.

The complex where the world’s finest athletes will get together has 3,604 apartments in 31 buildings. The place can accommodate 17,950 people. It cost round 1 billion dollars, paid for private money.

With little more than a week to go until the Opening Ceremony, Brazil kicked off with an own goal.

Valter Junior is a journalist for Metro Brazil. He can be reached at vajunior@gmail.com.