Nuzman: Bay Will Not Impact Athlete Health at Rio 2016

(ATR) Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman says the "first priority" for the final year of continuing the cleanup of Guanabara Bay ahead of the Olympic Games is protecting the athletes health.

Nuzman spoke at a press conference in London on Sept. 1 where he outlined the progress of the Games preparations to journalists. Other international press conferences are apparently in the works for Nuzman and the Rio 2016 team, but at to be determined dates and locations.

He spent the first eight minutes of his presentation to clear up misconceptions about the status of the bay and reiterate the progress that has been made to clean it up.

"Let’s be straight to the point: I assure you that the health and well being of the athletes is the first priority; there will be no problems," Nuzman said.

"We have had 5 test events in Rio waters already. All of them, we are told, had great success by the international federations involved. Other cities also have problems with their waters and fixed them for Games time, Rio will do the same."

In addition to vowing to protect athlete health, Nuzman said to the Associated Press the organizing committee's medical department is looking into testing for viruses in the water. At the press conference Nuzman reiterated that bacterial levels in the bay were under the standard set by the IOC and the World Health Organization.

Nuzman said that all athletes at the sailing test event were briefed by the organizing committee on the status of the waters of Guanabara Bay and the continuing construction done at the Marina da Gloria. The construction will see all rainwater and sewage diverted away from the Marina, ensuring it will be clean by 2016.

"We have been testing the waters of the Bay for 38 years so we have solid data and understanding about it," Nuzman added.

"We ask not to give up on Guanabara Bay; a clearer bay will be one of the most important legacies of the Games."

Rio officials will continue the use of ecobarriers and ecobarges to filter and collect floating trash in the bay. During the 2015 sailing test event, some courses needed to be closed due to debris in the water, after rain hit the season. Nuzman said that the prevention measures have been "very effective" and will be used up and through the Olympics.

"I have no doubt we will do this the sailing competition in Guanabara without any problems like we had with 350 athletes," Nuzman said.

"A lot of them say good words about this and was proven by the international federations. Nevertheless we guarantee that we are working every day to not have any questions or problems."

In addition to speaking about the state of Guanabara Bay, Nuzman offered some insight into the schedule for the 2016 Olympic Torch Relay.

Brazil President Dilma Rousseff and two gold medalist athletes from Brazil will light the flame with Rio 2016 officials on Apr. 21 in Olympia, Greece. On Apr. 27, the flame will be handed over to Rio 2016, after which it will travel to Lausanne for the first time ever.

"It will be the first time in the history, and we will have a lot of activities in Lausanne," Nuzman said.

"The arrival in Brasilia will take place on May 3 for a relay that will last a total of 100 days."

After arriving in Brasilia, the torch will visit every state capital of Brazil as well as surrounding cities and towns. A total of 12,000 people will run with the Olympic flame, before the cauldron is lit at the Maracana Stadium on Aug. 5 to open the 2016 Games.

Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro

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