When the opening ceremonies of the 2016 Olympics begin tomorrow night, Friday, Aug. 5 in Rio De Janeiro, the Olympic-size problems and controversies that have plagued the preparation for this season’s games are now mostly behind them, but there’s still time for an international incident.
The threat of terrorism, the possibilities of contracting the Zika virus, water pollution, substandard sanitation, unsanitary sewage and plumbing conditions, political corruption, a major financial crisis, exhausted municipal resources, local crime, inadequate housing for Olympic athletes and all of the documented human rights violations committed upon the citizens of Rio will become faint footnotes when the theme song of the Olympiad begins, officially starting the 2016 games.
There are a variety of sports categories. The most popular ones you know, such as basketball, boxing, cycling, diving, golf, gymnastics, martial arts (judo/taekwondo), soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, weightlifting and wrestling.
But there’s also archery, badminton, beach volleyball, canoeing (slalom/sprint), equestrian, fencing, field hockey, handball, rugby, sailing, shooting, soccer, synchronized swimming, table tennis, trampoline, triathlon, volleyball and water polo.
Athletes have trained for the past four years to compete. A good showing, gold or silver, helps to make a name for those who are unknown.
Athletes such as Bruce Jenner, now known as Caitlyn, Kristi Yamaguchi, Michael Phelps, Shawn White, and Gabby Douglas have become famous from the games.
The medals, gold for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, have been given in that sequence since the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis.
Many world-class athletes have refused to participate this year because of health concerns.
In an interview, Serena Williams stated that she was not taking the Zika virus lightly, and that she would only travel to places within the Olympic Village that are protected during her participation.
NBA veteran Andrew Bogut, a member of the Australian team, had gone viral with several of his tweets mocking his team’s Rio lodgings. One states, “#IOCLuxuryLodging. We believe a bed is not vital for sleep. Fine tuned athletes can sleep standing up.”
The International Olympic Committee, established in 1894, headquartered in Switzerland, is the governing body of the Olympiad Games. They define its structure and have come under scrutiny recently for the demands made on countries to secure the games.
Rio de Janeiro won the bid for the games in 2009 and planned to spend S14.4 billion in estimated cost.
In June, seven weeks ago, the interim governor of Rio de Janeiro, Francisco Dornelles in the midst of an economic recession and with the country’s president facing impeachment proceedings, declared a “financial state of emergency.”
“The state’s government is bankrupt and can’t meet its financial commitments ahead of the games,” Dornelles said in his attempt to secure the additional funds from the government.
