IOC President Thomas Bach said on Tuesday that the Rio de Janeiro Olympics would be "spectacular" and a "great success" despite a political and economic crisis gripping the host nation, according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. Bach's comments came after Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman "brushed aside complaints over power failures and other problems revealed during a gymnastics test event."
Brazil President Dilma Rousseff "suffered a humiliating loss in a crucial impeachment vote." She "is almost certain to be forced from office well before the Olympic Games open in Rio on Aug. 5." Bach, speaking at the assembly of the Association of Summer Olympic Int'l Federations, "called on the IOC to show solidarity with Brazil." He said, "We know the current economic and political situation in Brazil will continue to make final preparations challenging, but I'm convinced, and we are all convinced, that the Olympic Games 2016 will be truly spectacular." Bach said that staging the Games was a "team effort" and that "the many successful test events which have already taken place are an excellent example of this team work" (REUTERS, 4/19).
IOC CONFIDENT: REUTERS' Karolina Tagaris wrote the IOC said that the Rio Games "will be safe for athletes despite concerns over polluted water."
Biologists said in '14 that "rivers leading into Rio's Guanabara bay contained superbacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and can cause urinary, gastrointestinal and pulmonary infections."
Bach: "We are very confident that the competition area for the athletes will offer safe and fair conditions. The city, the state and the organizing committee are undertaking many efforts and what we see now is that 60 percent of the surface is clean. Without the Games it would be zero" (REUTERS, 4/20).
