Aussies ready to move into village
Australian athletes are set to move into the Rio Olympic village tomorrow after ‘‘enormous’’ progress was made on extensive plumbing, electricity and gas faults.
Workers have been on overdrive in the 24 hours since the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) announced they would relocate athletes to hotels to shield them from numerous problems rendering their apartment tower accommodation unliveable.
Blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells and dirty floors were the major issues across Australia’s designated 15 floors.
Local organisers had deployed extra maintenance staff and more than 1000 cleaners last week as concerns escalated into crisis talks over the weekend.
But team boss Kitty Chiller said the AOC’s complaints had sparked an immediate and rapid response.
‘‘It’s been a really positive day,’’ Chiller said yesterday.
‘‘There’s a lot of Australians walking around in the village with big smiles on their faces, primarily because we have athletes with us but also because there’s been an enormous amount of progress in the last 24 hours,’’ she said.
Canoeist Jessica Fox and boxer Shelley Watts were among the first six athletes to arrive early on Monday morning Brazil time.
They and other imminent rivals will be put up in hotels until the AOC deems the village ready.
Chiller said three of the floors were now complete.
She expected the entire building to be ready for a final clean by close of business today.
‘‘Apart from seven apartments – around 30 beds – where there are still some issues around leakages that will take one or two more days,’’ Chiller said.
‘‘The workers with us today have absolutely been really good, they’ve been working very hard, they’re very skilled and we’re very happy with the progress.
‘‘It’s looking like, according to our plan, we will be able to move everybody in on Wednesday.’’