5 Worst Things About the Rio Olympics So Far: VIDEO

5 Worst Things About the Rio Olympics So Far

Kitty Chiller has a problem with the Olympic Village in Rio. | Vanderlei Almeida/AFP/Getty Images

Jason Alsher MORE ARTICLES

July 31, 2016

It’s hard to believe there was a time when we were ever concerned about the athletes who wouldn’t be participating in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Sure, selfishly we always want to watch the best of the best strut their stuff on the biggest stage. Yet, when it comes to the Rio Games, one has to think about the stakes now more than ever. This isn’t about winning gold anymore, this is about something much more: one’s health.

We honestly believed that by the time the Games rolled around Brazil would’ve gotten its act together. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case. These 2016 Rio Olympics have become a liability; there really is no other way to put it. In fact, we can’t remember the last time the Olympics were in this much disarray leading up to the Games themselves. But here we are in 2016, and yes, it is that bad.

No matter how you look at it, there is a laundry list of issues surrounding the Rio Games. If we chose to list them all, we’d be here for days — possibly weeks. However, since we don’t have that much time, we thought it’d be best to keep the list reasonable. With that, here’s a look at the five worst things about the 2016 Rio Games so far.

1. Russian doping scandal

We’ve seen doping scandals before, but nothing quite like the one that’s going on with Russia, as a recent report outlined a massive “state-sanctioned doping system” going on within the country. While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided against fully banning the country from the Rio Games, the fallout has been massive, with at least 85 Russians officially barred from these Olympics because of doping.

2. Zika

After determining that the Zika virus can cause birth defects, it was hardly a surprise when the World Health Organization declared it to be a global public health emergency. Due to legit fears of this virus, many of the world’s top athletes have pulled out of the Rio Olympics, while others have opted instead to freeze their sperm ahead of the Games. Any way you look at it, this virus has forced extra precautions to be made.

3. Olympic Village is uninhabitable

Although many aspects of the Olympic Village are beautiful, the conditions of the dorms is not one of them. In fact, due to electrical and plumbing problems, Australia’s Olympic team leader Kitty Chiller is keeping the team out of the complex until the problems are fixed.

“There was a strong smell of gas in some apartments and there was ‘shorting’ in the electrical wiring,” said Chiller. “We have been living in nearby hotels because the village is simply not safe or ready.” If you ask us, the idea of things not being “safe” or “ready,” sounds a whole lot like these Olympics in general.

4. No way to “catch ’em all”

For all of the “real” problems associated with the Rio Games, it’s crazy to think that one of the recent complaints would center around an actual game. Unfortunately, that seems to be the case.

According to one Olympian, American diver Abby Johnston, the worst part about Olympic Village is that there is no Pokémon GO — the horror! Of course, we can’t be certain that this is an genuine complaint, however, given how quickly this game has turned into an obsession, we wouldn’t be surprised. The fact is, when you “gotta catch ’em all” you “gotta catch ’em all.

5. The water is crap — literally

Just when we thought that the water at the Rio Games couldn’t get any worse, we learned that it actually did — get worse. Per a report from the New York Times, recent tests have shown that the water is “full of diarrhea-causing rotaviruses and drug-resistant ‘super bacteria.'”

“Foreign athletes will literally be swimming in human crap, and they risk getting sick from all those microorganisms,” local pediatrician Dr. Daniel Becker told the Times. “It’s sad, but also worrisome.”

‘Super bacteria’ and crap — yeah, good luck with that.

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