Rio 2016 Olympic Games Organizers 'Extremely Concerned' Over Sick Sailor

Organizers of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics said on Saturday they were "extremely concerned" after German sailor Erik Heil fell ill following his third place at the test event there, according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. Heil, who is being treated in a Berlin hospital for several infections, said that "he was convinced they were caused by the polluted waters, piling more pressure on organizers to secure the safety of the athletes at next year's Olympic sailing, swimming and triathlon events." Heil's case "has been taken up by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), which said it was escalating the matter to Rio organizers and the international sailing federation (ISAF)." Games organizers said, "We are also following, together with the ISAF, the work developed by the (Rio) State Government so that measures ... to improve the quality of the water in Guanabara Bay are completed on time, assuring good conditions for the competition lanes during the Rio 2016 Games" (REUTERS, 8/30).