The 2016 Rio Olympics were home to exciting showdowns and record-breaking performances. Behind the scenes of the dominant athletes, however, the Olympic games were turning upside down. Headlines littered the newspapers everyday regarding a new, unthinkable problem striking down in Rio. With the country recovering from political scandals and an economic downturn, the Olympics were too big of a bite for Brazil to chew.
Coming into this Olympics, expectations were low. The preparation of the Olympic Village and sporting venues was slow, dangerous, and expensive, but the world was still eagerly waiting to see if Brazil could step up to the plate. As coverage of Brazil began to increase, everyone began to see the reality of the situation there. Obviously, the Zika virus plagued our headlines, and although Brazilian officials insisted there was almost no chance of infection, several athletes pulled out of the Olympics altogether because of the threat. Protesters crowded the future venues and even tried to interfere with the Olympic torch to make a statement against the corruption in government and needless spending, and that was only the beginning for what was to come.
As the games began, athletes, coaches, journalists, and spectators alike began to sense the instability and unorganization that loomed ahead. The living quarters for the athletes were less than luxurious, with leaky bathrooms and shoddy furniture. Journalists were deprived of food when covering certain events, and spectators were kept waiting for hours to get into events. The games were understaffed and overpopulated, with athletes talking about how they feel “suffocated” by the amount of people walking around the Village.
The competitions came and soon dominated the headlines, but that doesn’t mean the problems went away. If anything, they got worse. There was feces, furniture, and oil found floating down Guanabara Bay where the sailing competition took place. Human body parts washed up on the shore of Copacabana Beach, where the volleyball competitions took place. The water in the diving pool randomly turned green because of algae and was later shut down. To top it all off, a French gymnast who suffered a brutal leg injury was dropped when medics tried to load him into the ambulance.
The Olympics were too straining on Brazil’s economy and resources. If the countless problems didn’t show it, several different groups made it very apparent. Brazilian police officers, amidst protests over funding, made it very clear that they would not be able to protect tourists coming to Rio, and they even welcomed visitors at the Rio airport with signs that read “Welcome to Hell.” Teachers displeased with the fact that they haven’t been paid in two months took to the streets to protest, and a group of them even successfully extinguished the Olympic flame. Coming into the Olympics, the Russian doping scandal disbarred many athletes from participating, but those that made it through were met with jeers, disapproval, and even a finger wag from US swimmer Lilly King as she routed her Russian opponent in the final.
Even before the Olympics, Brazil was a struggling country, and those that disagree must not have picked up a newspaper in the past several months. Political corruption, economic scandals, and falling prices for Brazil’s major resources were at the top of the list of pre-existing problems in Brazil that can be finished by frequent gun battles in Rio, murders, and robberies. It’s obvious that there were cities better suited to host the Olympic Games, because Rio turned out to be the opposite of the paradise that it was depicted as being. Rio should’ve spent its money on improving the state of its country instead of trying to put on a show for the rest of the world. Sadly, because they didn’t, they may end up in a worse position than they were before this summer.
