Polluted bay blamed for sailor’s illness
A sailor from RIO DE JANEIRO Belgium is ill after competing on the polluted water of Rio’s Guanabara Bay.
Evi Van Acker, who won a bronze medal in London four years ago, reported that she was feeling sick after racing in the laser radial class and had extensive evaluations from Olympic and Belgian team medical staffers.
Van Acker’s coach, Wil Van Bladel, revealed that the athlete had suffered from an intestinal infection while training in Rio during July and became sick again Wednesday.
“Evi caught a bacteria in early July that causes dysentery,” Van Bladel told Belgian television station VRT. “Doctors say this can seriously disrupt energy levels for three months. It became clear (Wednesday) that she lacked energy during tough conditions. The likelihood that she caught it here during contact with the water is very big.”
Van Acker was a strong medal favorite ahead of the Games but has struggled, slipping to 10th place with four qualifying races remaining before the medal round.
“I am not feeling well, and I am ill,” Van Acker told Belgian news service De Redactie. “This explains my poor results so far. I tried not to think too much about it during the race, but (then) it was not possible.”
Officials for World Sailing said Van Acker was the only sailor to have reported illness-related problems during the opening part of the competitive program.
However, the filthy state of the bay, which has tons of raw sewage pumped into it as part of the city’s insufficient sanitation system, was one of the biggest concerns leading up to the Olympics. Independent reports found high levels of viruses and bacteria, and experts warned of the dangers the conditions could pose to competitors.
A Belgian team spokesman said Van Acker would continue to undergo evaluation and her future participation had not been discussed as of Thursday afternoon.