Swimming's governing body, FINA, "has called for virus testing of the water that will be used for events at next year's Olympics amid fears for athletes' health," according to the AP. Until recently, Games organizers "insisted viral testing was not necessary," despite an independent five-month analysis by the Associated Press that showed "dangerously high levels of viruses from human sewage at all Rio Olympic water venues." The study discovered that the location the athletes will enter the water on Copacabana Beach for the marathon swimming and triathlon events "had a reading of more than 2 million human adenovirus per liter -- 2,000 times the reading that water experts in the U.S. say would be considered highly alarming if seen on beaches" in the U.S. or Europe. FINA said it and the State Environment Institute (INEA) are "conducting tests on the water of the Copacabana beach in order to ensure that during Games time the athletes will have the best conditions to compete, namely concerning their health and safety" (AP, 9/17).
