Until 2 years ago, hardly anyone in the World had ever heard of the Zika virus. Now the word Zika is a household word Many of the top athletes in the World have decided to forego the Olympics due to the health implications from the Zika virus. It is also a detriment that there is no known vaccine right now to cure or eliminate the virus. The virus which is transmitted by mosquitoes has now reached the US shores as well as all of South America. Both female and male athletes that are participating in these Olympics are putting their health and the health of others in jeopardy by just traveling to Rio for the Olympics.
The Russian Olympic Team has been caught up in a Countrywide doping scandal that has been going on for some time. Many Russian athletes has been denied a chance to compete in these Olympics but the IOC instead of not allowing any Russian athlete to perform, took the easy way out and ruled that each governing body such as; swimming, soccer, etc would have to rule whether they would permit the Russian athletes in each sporting event to be allowed or not allowed to compete. The IOC which for years has been under fire for many ethical issues should of ruled that all Russian athletes not be allowed to participate in these Olympics due to the Nationwide allowing of doping of athletes.
Brazil, which is in the midst of a bad recession, has seen cost over runs and budgets blown in trying to prepare for these Olympics. When bidding for the Olympics, Brazil and the city of Rio De Janeiro were wanting to show the World just how far they have come and what they had to offer the World. Now they are struggling to finish up getting ready for the Olympics spending billions of dollars they do not have and in the meantime cutting spending on education and health care and an estimated 20% of Brazilians living in Rio are living in poverty and deplorable living conditions. Even the Police haven't been paid in weeks and are being asked to protect the athletes and foreigners traveling to see these Olympics. The accommodations are average to poor with many rooms not ready or missing necessities like towels, shower curtains and even toilet paper. Brazil has spent Billions on these 2016 Olympics to entice foreigners to travel to their Country but little to none of the money has went to helping out those of their own in great need.
Terrorism which has all Countries on high alert, especially in Brazil as they try to keep all athletes and foreigners safe during the 3 weeks of these Olympic games. The USA Men's Basketball team has moved from the Olympic Village to a rented yacht in the Harbor which is heavily guarded and protected by Brazilian armed forces. They have been many issues in regards to safety and the well being of all athletes housed in the Olympic Village. All should pray for the continued safety for the athletes and those who are traveling to see these Olympics. The costs to protect all in these 3 weeks as the World watches Brazil, Brazil is spending yet Billions more as well.
Hosting the Olympics nowadays is getting too costly as Countries are spending Billions only to see themselves go into huge debt and after the 3 week whirlwind that has taken them years to prepare for is over, many buildings and venues sit empty and decay over time. There needs to be a group from the IOC who will work with those bidding on upcoming Olympics both Summer and Winter where they use existing structures and venues and accommodations to reduce the costs to host the Olympics without going into debt. The IOC also has to work with keeping down the cost to see Olympic events for it now costs an arm and a leg to see most events and those that want to see these events in person cannot afford to anymore, especially those from the Country who are hosting the Olympics. Some early round Olympic events are affordable but the Gold Round, Opening ceremony, Closing Ceremony, Basketball, and Gymnastics just to name a few are priced for the rich. Television has made it quite easy to watch almost all the events such as NBC and all its cable affiliates as well as the CBC in Canada. Although it cost them a fortune for the rights, they will easily make it back in ad costs. I have to give a shout out to my Cable Provider Comcast (Xfinity) , for on their X1 system, they have every event, every team, every athlete, every medal count, everything you need to see and find out about with these Rio Olympics at your finger tips on their Cable system.
Katie, the Rio Olympic Analyst will have updates throughout these Olympics as to events, stories, and any breaking news should it happen. The Olympics officially kicked off on Wednesday with the Women's World Soccer games starting in which the USA National Women's Team shut out New Zealand 2-0. So let the Olympics begin, bring on the Opening Ceremony on Friday night and lets enjoy the next 21 days of Olympic events and pageantry.
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| Katie 2016 Rio Olympic Dog Analyst |
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