Rio 2016 Olympics

[northernicebear]

with the olympic games in rio 8 days away, let's take a look at how much of a disaster it is

Crime is a huge problem (2) [Video] (3)
Unsafe Water Conditions (2)
Damage Control
Embezzlement & Corruption (2) (3) (4)
Rio 2 Weeks before the olympics
(In Portuguese) Road designed for the olympics shows problems just after being built
Protestors Extinguish the Olympic Flame

As it gets closer, I'm sure there will be more horrifying news.

[Sev]

And people have been predicting this for months.
The Russian team doesn't realize how lucky they are.

[northernicebear]

There are other individual athletes too

Have a list:
Lee-Anne Pace
Vijay Singh (Fiji)
Marc Leishman (Australia)
Charl Schwartzel (South Africa)
Rory McIlroy (Ireland)
Graeme McDowell (Ireland)
Jason Day (Australia)
Tejay van Garderen (U.S.)

[Valerion]

You missed this one, and the Rio mayor's response.

http://deadspin.com/rio-olympics-athlet ... 1784219622

[northernicebear]

You missed this one, and the Rio mayor's response.

http://deadspin.com/rio-olympics-athlet ... 1784219622

oh god that's good.

[Sev]

Yeah, when I heard the response about the kangaroos, I couldn't believe it.

[northernicebear]

More stuff
NZ athlete flees Rio after multiple police run-ins
Possible Subway workers strike
Yet more water stuff
100m away from olympic flame, storm drain can be seen spewing sewage and waste (Portugese)
Japanese Journalist has backpack stolen at Rio's Galeão Airport (Portuguese)
Potential murder of woman cleaning up the bay
Dengue Fever, Chikungunya also among potential infections 1 2
Chinese Government Issues a travel safety warning for Rio Olympics
"Foreigners" blamed for Olympic Village conditions
Russian weightlifting team banned for doping (again) 2 3
Terrorist Threats [2][3]
Economic Impact hits poor hardest
Scams in Rio

"but why don't they move it elsewhere?"

Many reasons, the two biggest are legal obligations and logistics.
First, there are contracts that can't be broken just because of a PR nightmare. It is possible that a host city could be so completely unprepared that it would justify breaching the contract, but even with how bad Rio is shaping up, it hasn't reached that point. In the future, I would expect the IOC to have much more stringent preparation checkpoints that host cities will have to meet in order to avoid losing host status.
Second, while there were rumors of problems leading up to it, the extent of the deficiencies weren't known until recently, and there just isn't time to reorganize and move elsewhere. The Olympics are a huge event, they can't move just anywhere in a short amount of time. Cities like London or Beijing which have hosted them recently would probably be able to accommodate it, and probably some places in the US (particularly cities near large universities). However, its not just about hosting all the events, its also housing the athletes, and spectators, and support staff. Besides, even if the facilities are physically present, there are likely pre-existing obligations at those facilities. -/u/kinglefty

[Sev]

The Russian Winter Olympics had similar issues, and it turned out mostly fine, didn't it?
Who's to say that these guys can't somehow pull a rabbit out of a hat?
Unlikely, but since it can't be moved, it's the best that we can hope for.

[northernicebear]

The Russian Winter Olympics had similar issues, and it turned out mostly fine, didn't it?
Who's to say that these guys can't somehow pull a rabbit out of a hat?
Unlikely, but since it can't be moved, it's the best that we can hope for.

Russia had a government at least, Brazil is in a state of anarchy. [1] [2][3][4][5][6]

[Sev]

I've heard that the police force has all but ceased to operate as it should. And many of the above articles seem to support that.

[Raven Song]

I've basically given up on these Olympics. I used to get so excited for it but now...

I'll watch the equestrian because a girl I used to know when I was a kid doing horse riding is riding and this year Zimbabwe has its first ever equestrian athlete so excited to watch her.
And I'll watch the diving because I used to diving and I think its a pretty sport.

And the opening and closing ceremonies because they should be spectacular.

[Sev]

"And the opening and closing ceremonies because they should be spectacular."

They're sure to be a riot.

[northernicebear]

"And the opening and closing ceremonies because they should be spectacular."

They're sure to be a riot.

yeaaah. "spectacular" is a nice way of saying "a hilarious disaster"

[northernicebear]

Security & Crime
Aussie Athletes possessions stolen during fire evacuation
Rio Olympics Security Firm Fired, Maligned Police Force Takes over
Young armed gang flaunting weapons
UN Atomic Agency to act as security against potential ISIS terror attack

Structural & Construction Issues
[url=ttp://www.sltrib.com/sports/4176678-155/olymp ... ses-at-rio]Olympics: Main Ramp Collapses at Rio Sailing Venue[/url] [2]
Chinese Athletes trying to fix shower curtain (YouTube)

Health Issues
German sailor blames infections on water at Rio 2016 Olympic test event
"Zika may be overhyped" - Ryan Seacrest

5 Days Until Rio

[Sev]

Ryan Seacrest, the authority on infectious diseases!

[Valerion]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/ ... -host-city

Police used stun grenades and tear gas to clear protesters in the path of the Olympic torch in a poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, two days before South America’s first Olympic Games open under tight security.

The Olympic Torch has a riot team as bodyguard?

[Raven Song]

I'm very interested to see how the eventing goes. So here's some background for those of you who don't understand how eventing works:
Day 1 - Dressage - flatwork of a set test designed to show discipline and understanding of aids between horse and rider
Day 2 - cross country - massive test over several long hard km's with 30-40 solid obstacles to be jumped. true test of endurance and strength of both horse and rider.
Day 3 - show jumping - final test over a course of coloured pole jumps, test to see how much energy is left after two solid tough days.

So problems that will be experienced:

Noise - Brazilians are not used to horse events like this. chances are the crowds will not understand that cheering and whooping isn't appropriate behaviour around equines.
Heat - the majority of the teams in the equestrian division are from Europe and North America. Most of them are not used to the heat. Even the riders from Japan, Zimbabwe (they have their first ever eventer) and New Zealand are based in Europe.
The going - The going means the quality of the footing. horses legs are designed to absorb a lot of impact (from the knee down there is no muscle, only bone and tendons). due to this if the footing is too soft or slippy, tendon injuries occur. to hard and you jar the joints. The venue for the cross country track, which features 35 frikken solid frikken testing jumps, has never been tested by this many horses at this level. the later drawn horses may find it harder going.

it will be nice to see it all go off without a hitch, and considering all the eventers passed the first vet check (fatalities are not uncommon in these level of events for both horse and rider and so naturally there is the maximum amount of precaution added...) I think it should go well. I will be following all of the equestrian as much as I can... between the eventing, the grand prix dressage and the show jumping it should be a truly awesome event.

The show mumping usually becomes super creative with amazing jumps etc.

I'm excited.

[northernicebear]

I'm very interested to see how the eventing goes. So here's some background for those of you who don't understand how eventing works:
Day 1 - Dressage - flatwork of a set test designed to show discipline and understanding of aids between horse and rider
Day 2 - cross country - massive test over several long hard km's with 30-40 solid obstacles to be jumped. true test of endurance and strength of both horse and rider.
Day 3 - show jumping - final test over a course of coloured pole jumps, test to see how much energy is left after two solid tough days.

So problems that will be experienced:

Noise - Brazilians are not used to horse events like this. chances are the crowds will not understand that cheering and whooping isn't appropriate behaviour around equines.
Heat - the majority of the teams in the equestrian division are from Europe and North America. Most of them are not used to the heat. Even the riders from Japan, Zimbabwe (they have their first ever eventer) and New Zealand are based in Europe.
The going - The going means the quality of the footing. horses legs are designed to absorb a lot of impact (from the knee down there is no muscle, only bone and tendons). due to this if the footing is too soft or slippy, tendon injuries occur. to hard and you jar the joints. The venue for the cross country track, which features 35 frikken solid frikken testing jumps, has never been tested by this many horses at this level. the later drawn horses may find it harder going.

it will be nice to see it all go off without a hitch, and considering all the eventers passed the first vet check (fatalities are not uncommon in these level of events for both horse and rider and so naturally there is the maximum amount of precaution added...) I think it should go well. I will be following all of the equestrian as much as I can... between the eventing, the grand prix dressage and the show jumping it should be a truly awesome event.

The show mumping usually becomes super creative with amazing jumps etc.

I'm excited.

Ooh, I am too (about this)

[Sudan Red]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/ ... -host-city

Police used stun grenades and tear gas to clear protesters in the path of the Olympic torch in a poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, two days before South America’s first Olympic Games open under tight security.

The Olympic Torch has a riot team as bodyguard?

I know why... BUT WHY?! Jeeeeeez...

[Sev]

Because Brazil is a country falling apart...

[Raven Song]

Well there were a few things from day 1:

That French gymnast who broke his leg
A stray bullet ending up in the equestrian media tent
I was right about the crowds, every time a Brazilian rider entered the arena (his horse needs to be calm right) the crowds went crazy. Poor team. Held it together fairly well.

[Rakuen Growlithe]

A stray bullet ending up in the equestrian media tent

Come again for big fudge?

[Valerion]

Then of course there's the moment that Twitter went insane. And you needed a recording you can rewatch when the kids are in bed. Or if you're single ...

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/08/05 ... 61356.html

[northernicebear]

Then of course there's the moment that Twitter went insane. And you needed a recording you can rewatch when the kids are in bed. Or if you're single ...

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/08/05 ... 61356.html

yeah, this just pisses me off for reasons I don't want to get into quite yet.

[Sev]

We live in a distinctly hypocritical world; unfortunately, it seems to be getting worse, rather than better.

[Raven Song]

As a woman...

I approve this message.

Even though he isn't my type... (I've been watching the woman's volleyball matches... they're all my type

I also loved the SA teams uniforms but that's because green yo.

[Rakuen Growlithe]

Well now I'm just hoping all our athletes get out alive: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -Clos.html

Also sad Raven just ignored me.

[Sev]

I can understand his frustration. Clos beat him because he had a port start, and then rubbed it in his face.

[Raven Song]

Well now I'm just hoping all our athletes get out alive: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -Clos.html

Also sad Raven just ignored me.

I'm sorry, I never meant to... I didn't understand why I was getting fudge

[Rakuen Growlithe]

I was using a line from How I Met Your Mother. You mentioned something really interesting and then didn't provide any details.