Imagine, you’ve put in years of focus, months of vigorous training; endured gritty early mornings, paired with an all-clean strict diet. It’s been tough. But after getting through the tests and trials, the fight is nearly over, and you’ve been chosen to represent your country in the glorious summer games- the pinnacle of your athletic career.
Eventually you arrive in Rio, head to the Olympic Village, which will be your home for the next few weeks, and you're greated by dirty floors, blocked toilets, and water dripping from the ceiling onto exposed wires. Not cool.
This was the reality of Australia’s Olympics team on Sunday, as well as many others who arrived in Rio over the weekend for the games starting on 5 August. The leader of the Australian Olympic delegation said its athletes would not be checking into the Olympic because of gas, electricity and plumbing problems - describing the village as unfit for occupancy.
The team’s Chef of Mission, Kitty Chiller, stated that there were: ‘dirty floors in need of a massive clean,’ and that, ‘water has come through the ceiling resulting in large puddles on the floor around cabling and wiring,’ she said in a written statement. The complaint also mentioned darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed.
Chiller went on to point out that delegations from Britain, New Zealand, Sweden and other countries were experiencing similar problems in the village, which is in an area of western Rio called Barra da Tijuca. Where United States, Italy and the Netherlands had paid to hire workers to finish their rooms, the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported. According to Australian officials, their athletes will be staying at hotels until the problem is fixed.
Olympic officials said they expected the issues to be resolved within a few days. 'There are some adjustments that we are dealing with and will be resolved in a short while,' said Carlos Nuzman, the president of the organizing committee. 'Every Olympic village, because of their magnitude, needs some adjustments until it becomes perfect. The important thing is that everything will be resolved before the Games, without disturbing the athletes.'
The mayor of Rio de Janerio’s offer of giving the Australian team a bouncing Kangaroo to make “them feel at home here” didn’t go down too well either. Australian committee spokesman Mike Tancred told Folha de S Paulo that, 'we do not need kangaroos, we need plumbers to account for the many puddles found in the apartments.'
This is just many of the problems Rio has faced in the run up to the games. Rio faces threats of terrorism, high crime rates, political and economic turmoil, and the spread of the Zika virus.
Like this? Then you might also be interested in:
Abortion Is Illegal In Brazil: That Doesn't Mean It's Not Happening, It Means It's Not Safe
People Are Talking About 'Ab Cracks'. Here's Why They Should Stop
Follow Natalie on Twitter @Nataliejourna
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.