RIO DE JANEIRO – The governing body of world sailing says it will start doing its own independent testing for viruses in Rio’s Olympic waters after an Associated Press investigation showed a serious health risk to athletes competing in venues rife with raw sewage.
READ MORE: Olympic teams to swim, boat in Rio’s filth: AP Investigation
Peter Sowrey, the chief executive of the governing body ISAF, said he wants to know what’s in the water “from a virus perspective as well as a bacteria perspective.”
He says the AP investigation of water pollution in the Olympic city helped “wake us up again and put this back on the agenda.”
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The sailing venue in Rio’s Guanabara Bay is badly polluted, as is a separate venue for rowing and canoeing – the Rodrigo de Freitas lake – in central Rio. The AP investigation also showed venues for triathlon and open-water swimming off Copacabana Beach are filled with bacteria and viruses that pose a threat to athletes and tourists.
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