Rio Scandals: Is It Ready, Will The Place Kill You & More!

[selkie]

He's in hiding, reportedly in the USA after two other high level Russian anti-doping officials, including one who was in the process of writing a book, suffered from 'fatal heart attacks'.

[SnideAsides]

Russia's probably going to be banned from the Paralympics. The fact that the IPC is hinting to this now even though an actual decision is a couple of weeks away makes me think they want to force the IOC's hand a little.

[Kromm]

[xaxat]

The IOC is handing the decision about the eligibility of Russian athletes over to the individual sporting federations.

[SnideAsides]

In summary, the IOC is basically leaving it up to each individual sport to decide whether Russians can compete, but there IS a blanket ban on any Russian athlete who has ever failed a drug test. Of course, people passing drug tests they should have failed is kind of the entire reason we're in this shit, but the IOC never let facts get in the way of the almighty rouble.

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

U.S. women's soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo
Four-time Olympic gold medalist Serena Williams

Hope has been in some legal trouble (domestic violence) and probably doesn't want the topic re-hashed. 

It's nice that Serena will let another young tennis player get a chance.

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7 of the world's best golfers aren't going.  A couple of high profile American basketball players who claim it's not because of Zika.

Nobody whose Olympic experience is the main trophy will stay home.  It seems that the athletes mentioned (basketball, tennis, golf) don't consider a gold medal their premiere achievement.  To turn down their country's Olympic team may appear selfish, so Zika is a great excuse.

As for the other situations (bad water etc.), Brazil can clean it up in no time.  Just like how Beijing cleaned up its air pollution simply by putting all its factories on a two-week vacation.  And remember, a lot of the dangers are unseen WHEREVER you go ... I mean that Japanese nuclear power plant is STILL leaking radioactive water .... 

[greendog78]

9 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

I mean that Japanese nuclear power plant is STILL leaking radioactive water .... 

Tokyo isn't near Fukushima so that's not really a thing...

[SnideAsides]

As I understand it a lot of the issue with the bay water is raw sewage, and... like, you can't just tell Brazilians not to go to the toilet for two weeks.

[SnideAsides]

For those who want an update on which sports are letting Russians compete:

IN: Archery, Judo, Sailing (with one athlete substituted), Shooting, Tennis

PARTIAL: Canoeing (5/14 athletes banned), Modern Pentathlon (1/4 banned), Rowing (all but six athletes banned; men's coxless fours is the only event they qualified for and have enough approved athletes to compete in), Swimming (7/37 banned; more athletes may be DQd because of relay teams with banned athletes)

OUT: Athletics, Weightlifting

NO QUALIFIERS: Basketball, Field Hockey, Rugby Sevens, Soccer

STILL UNKNOWN: Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, Diving, Equestrian, Fencing, Golf, Gymnastics, Handball, Synchronised Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Volleyball, Water Polo, Wrestling

[Quilt Fairy]

On ‎7‎/‎25‎/‎2016 at 9:43 PM, SnideAsides said:

As I understand it a lot of the issue with the bay water is raw sewage, and... like, you can't just tell Brazilians not to go to the toilet for two weeks.

From the Washington Post: There's still lots of poop in the water at the Rio Olympics. Also, there are major problems in the athlete's village.

[Blergh]

  What's infuriating is that they had the chance to try to at least surfacely clean up their acts but the officials seem to have TOTALLY blown it. Even though the Athenians lost their shirts, they DID at least get repaved streets and more reliable water out of the Olympic venture.

[Kromm]

I wonder if we can get the hashtag #pooplympics trending?

 

edit - hah. at least a few people have thought of it before now--not nearly enough though...

Edited July 28, 2016 by Kromm

[Quilt Fairy]

Entire Russian weightlifting team banned from Rio Olympics.

[greendog78]

No surprises there. They should get rid of weightlifting from the Olympics. It's a ridiculously dirty "sport".

[selkie]

The IWF actually seems to be trying to get its clean act together after decades of doping problems. Bulgaria's national squad was already banned for excessive doping violations; Belarus, Kazakhstan and Turkey have a pending national level ban and will be out if the B tests for retested samples from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics confirm the A sample findings, and Azerbaijan has also lost its Rio quota places over doping positives. 

A couple small fires reported in the athlete village including a small dumpster fire in the basement of Australia's building.  Someone over at SwimSwam described it as a metaphor for the Rio Olympic experience.

And another athlete mugging-this time one of China's track stars in the hotel lobby where he had been staying.

[merylinkid]

So far this week:

Athlete mugged

Fire in building that is believed to be arson.

Boat ramp collapses at sailing venue.

 

Some things are bound to happen.   Some things are beyond a country's control, like the Zika outbreak.   But at this point this is getting ridiculous.   Sure Beijing had to worry about pollution.   And Sochi had unfinished buildings.   And LA had traffic.   But that is ONE thing each.   Brazil has security issues, Zika, unfinished, dangerous buildings, unstable government, pollution, etc.

[Quilt Fairy]

 Looks like the IOC found their balls.  A special IOC panel will have final say on all Russian competitors.  Apparently they're getting blowback from last week's decision to leave it to the individual federations.  Some quotes from the article (bolding added):
 

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The IOC’s ruling executive board, meeting Saturday for the final time before the opening of the games next Friday, said the panel will decide on the entry of Russian athletes whose names have been forwarded to compete by their international sports federations and approved by an independent arbitrator.

“This panel will decide whether to accept or reject that final proposal,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. “We want to make it absolutely clear that we are the ones making the final call.”

Quote

Adams said the panel will review every athlete cleared by the federations, but would not reopen the cases of those who have been barred. An arbitrator from the Court of Arbitration for Sport will make an initial ruling before the final decision goes to the IOC panel.

“This review board panel will look at every single decision, every single athlete, to make sure the IOC is happy with the decision that’s been taken,” Adams said. “It’s very important that the IOC makes the final decision based on independent advice.”

Edited July 31, 2016 by Quilt Fairy

[Rick Kitchen]

Australian team robbed during a fire alarm evacuation.  My first though was, aren't there guards at the Olympic Village?  But now they're speculating that the new guards may have done the robbery.

[SnideAsides]

I feel bad for Australia's chef de mission Kitty Chiller because she's getting a lot of criticism in Australia for being so omnipresent (which I am sure has absolutely nothing at all to do with the fact that she's the first woman to get the job) (I am being quite sarcastic), but... like, between having to be seen to be tougher on the athletes after the London fiasco, and Nick Kyrgios baiting her on Twitter, and the incomplete apartments in the Athlete's Village, and the fire, and the theft, I'm with her. All the way.

[selkie]

6 hours ago, Rick Kitchen said:

Australian team robbed during a fire alarm evacuation.  My first though was, aren't there guards at the Olympic Village?  But now they're speculating that the new guards may have done the robbery.

The new guards from the security firm that was in the process of getting sacked for incompetence or new-new guards?

http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1040122/police-take-over-rio-2016-venue-security-after-private-firm-sacked-with-week-to-go

[Mittengirl]

Somewhat related to the current doping, NBCSN is airing a special right now called The Last Gold Medal about the East German doping in the 1970's.  It came on at 8:30 but if you can catch the rest of it, it looks really good. Don't know if it will be rerun or available on-demand

[SnideAsides]

Just when you thought Australia's Athlete's Village drama was over...

[Rick Kitchen]

The main pier at the yachting venue has collapsed in high winds.

[legaleagle53]

So are we all just watching this for the trainwreck potential this time around?

[scarynikki12]

I know I am. 

[Minneapple]

1 hour ago, legaleagle53 said:

So are we all just watching this for the trainwreck potential this time around?

Absolutely. Oh, that and the gymnastics and the abs -- I mean swimming.

[Kromm]

3 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

So are we all just watching this for the trainwreck potential this time around?

Part of me wants to.

But another part is struggling, because it isn't just all stuff like doping scandals where nobody is really hurt.  People are gonna get hurt (from bad construction, from crime, etc.), sick (from pollution, from Zika, and other ways I'm sure), and if there's terrorism possibly even killed.

[jennifer6973]

To add a bit of levity, I read a story on the Washington Post website that said a Japanese gymnast racked up a $7000 phone bill playing Pokemon Go.   He called his phone company to get a data plan and they changed it right then so he wouldn't have to pay so much.

[greendog78]

How could he be playing Pokemon Go in Brazil? It isn't out there yet. And other athletes were complaining about not being able to play since the maps were empty.

Edited August 3, 2016 by greendog78
I really do know how to spell

[greendog78]

Again, I doubt Uchimura was chasing them all over Rio because there aren't any Pokemon in Brazil because it doesn't work there yet.

http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/08/olympic-athletes-cannot-pokmon-go-for-the-gold-in-rio.html

Edited August 3, 2016 by greendog78

[Kromm]

Can Pokemon get Zika?

[Ohwell]

16 hours ago, Kromm said:

Can Pokemon get Zika?

I wish.

[merylinkid]

They. Lost. The. Keys. To. The. Stadium.    had to use bolt cutters to open it.

 

I'm not even sure how that happens.   I just ....

[scarynikki12]

They have to be doing this on purpose, right?  They're leading all of us to believe that this is going to be the trainwreck to end all trainwrecks and then, as of the Opening Ceremony, they'll have everything cleaned up, all security in place, Zika eradicated, and keys in the correct hands.  This is just the ultimate troll right?

[Quilt Fairy]

6 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

This is just the ultimate troll right?

Ask the Australian team.....

[SnideAsides]

Athlete's Village update: China's and Jamaica's apartments still aren't ready, and China and Denmark have both been robbed.

It's beginning to look like the only way we can prevent someone from gatecrashing the Athlete's Village and committing crimes is if the people working there do it instead.

[AuntieDiane6]

Well, look at it this way ... the Games have gotten too big and too commercial and the IOC doesn't do its job, so if it ends up that things don't work right and it's all laughable, that's OK.  AS LONG AS NO ONE GETS KILLED ... 

A family member in Japan said that the real reason the IOC chose Tokyo for 2020 was because they knew the games would be run perfectly.  

[Rick Kitchen]

A Russian diplomat was mugged on the street, and he grabbed the robber's gun and shot and killed him.

[Quilt Fairy]

Another IOC flip-flop.  70% of Russian team will be allowed to compete.

[proserpina65]

Rio is looking more and more like a disaster about to happen.  Why was it chosen?  Oh right, for the same reason Qatar got the World Cup - huge bribes.

[AuntieDiane6]

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Rio is looking more and more like a disaster about to happen.  Why was it chosen?  Oh right, for the same reason Qatar got the World Cup - huge bribes.

Oh, please.  It's not like the entire world was hoping to host this huge money-loser event.  At the time, the Brazilian economy was booming with the soaring oil market.  And the history of Olympics shows that bribes have accompanied almost ALL of the host city selections.  

[GinnyMars]

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Rio is looking more and more like a disaster about to happen.  Why was it chosen?  Oh right, for the same reason Qatar got the World Cup - huge bribes.

A fairer perspective on Rio: https://theawl.com/youre-complaining-about-the-olympics-wrong-f85205a0e1b0#.27y7v6mr8

[Rick Kitchen]

@PoshSprinkles - that link doesn't work.

[GinnyMars]

And another one: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=134468394&postcount=4592 :p

Edited August 5, 2016 by GinnyMars

[proserpina65]

6 hours ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

Oh, please.  It's not like the entire world was hoping to host this huge money-loser event.  At the time, the Brazilian economy was booming with the soaring oil market.  And the history of Olympics shows that bribes have accompanied almost ALL of the host city selections.  

There were other cities bidding for this Olympics, all of which were certainly offering bribes to the IOC because that's how the IOC works.  The soaring oil market just made it possible for Brazil to offer the biggest bribes at the time, and the biggest bribes always win.  Again, because that's how the IOC works.  I ain't no greenhorn.

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

There were other cities bidding for this Olympics, all of which were certainly offering bribes to the IOC because that's how the IOC works.

Then why not just auction the Olympics to the highest bidder?  Win-win.  

[legaleagle53]

1 hour ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

Then why not just auction the Olympics to the highest bidder?  Win-win.  

That's in effect what the IOC does.  The problem is that it has picked two host cities in a row (Sochi and Rio) that were disasters, and Pyeongchang doesn't look much better for 2018.   That's one of the biggest reasons that Tokyo won out for 2020, Beijing for 2022, and Rome, Paris, and Los Angeles are all on the short list for 2024, with Rome being the current front-runner.

[Daisy]

It's also not helping that other countries simply don't want the financial headache. a lot of cities that would have been a shoe-in to host - pulled out at the last minute. I don't think the IOC is ever going to go "Welp - we don't like the offerings, so we're going to cancel it this year." and a lot of countries feel the pressure of being better than the olympics before. I can speak for Toronto - NO ONE wants the Olympics here (even though the Mayor(s) keep saying oh we could/should try for it to put it on the map). we did "okay" for the Pan-Am games, but people were relatively cranky. I don't think we can host the world. and I am thinking a lot of other countries feel the same.  We'll probably be seeing a lot more Asian countries bid (because they can afford it - but they have their issues). It wouldn't surprise me to see South Africa bid once they get the money together. (and if they bid, they're getting it)

[Rick Kitchen]

Why does Pyeongchang look bad?  Seoul was okay.

Beijing won because the only other choice was Kirghizia or Kazakhstan, or one of those, and nobody wanted to go there.

[SnideAsides]

Yeah, Pyeongchang's more a "bureaucracy sucks" situation than a "this isn't going to be ready in time" situation.

I think the IOC's eventually going to have to admit they need to consider joint city/country bids. The Winter Olympics are basically doing it without admitting to it anyway, because nowhere with enough infrastructure to hold the games on their current scale is anywhere near actual mountains (it's crazy that Vancouver/Whistler seems positively restrained at this point), but I don't think they can justify forcing bidders to confine everything to one city (plus the extra soccer stadiums elsewhere) for much longer.

How many cities could reasonably hold the summer games right now without having to spend tens of billions of dollars? Especially outside of the English-speaking world, there aren't that many options. Like I'm trying to come up with a list and all I'm getting is recent hosts London and Beijing, surprisingly untelegenic LA, and Sydney and Melbourne (which aren't getting the games again while the Australian Olympic Committee wants Brisbane as its next bid city). Maybe Paris and Moscow, and obviously Tokyo in a few years, but that's about it.