RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – There’s a contradictory mission for rowers competing in this year’s Summer Olympics. Get into your boat, work your hardest – but try to avoid the water.
And definitely don’t swallow it.
On Saturday at the polluted Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon – the venue for Olympic rowing – rowers bleached the handles of oars. They swished with anti-bacterial mouthwash, kept water bottles in plastic bags, and took precautions to avoid coming down with diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms that could compromise years of training and a chance at gold.
To the naked eye, the lagoon’s polluted water seemed clearer than usual on Saturday, likely the result of bioremediation to clean up the sewage-filled area.
Despite the immaculate appearance, a 16-month long independent analysis by The Associated Press has shown the rowing venue – and other water venues used by 1,400 athletes in the Olympics – is teeming with dangerous viruses from human sewage that could cause athletes to become ill.