Olympic sailors to get garbage-free waters, maybe
No guarantees of trash-free waters in Olympic sailing competition; risk of sailor running into plastic bag in Brazilian waters
Trash-free water at the Rio Olympics is not guaranteed but sailing competitors can at least expect a “fair” tournament, a top official said Wednesday.
Barely two weeks from the start of the Games, the Brazilian hosts are scrambling to reassure competitors that the bay staging the sailing and windsurfing contests will not be affected by massive pollution.
The concern is that fast, light boats or a windsurfer could run into floating garbage or even just snag a plastic bag, getting slowed down or knocked out of the race. There are also worries about bacteria in the sewage-laden waters.
Andrea Correa, the Rio state secretary for the environment, showed off one of the new barriers aiming at preventing the flow of garbage into the bay and said he thinks competitors won’t have trouble.
“A guy trains for 10 years, comes here and then hits a rubbish bag -- it would be terrible for him,” Correa said.
“There is no bay in the world with no rubbish. Is there a chance we’ll have some problem? There is a very small chance, but it can’t be ignored. It’s not impossible. But I am very optimistic that we can guarantee a fair regatta,” he said.
