Shame: Brazil’s $12 billion Olympic legacy lies in ruins just 6 months after Rio2016

Less than six months ago, the eyes of the world were on the huge Olympic stadiums in Rio.

Billions of dollars were spent on bringing the flagship sporting event to Brazil, with the overall cost estimated to be around $12billion. This was at a time when the Brazilian economy was in a huge recession, and state workers were being paid late, if at all.

But now the Olympic legacy lies in ruins, new photos have revealed, with arenas crumbling and already falling into disrepair.

The aquatics stadium, used for last year's Olympic and Paralympic Games, is currently in a state of disrepair. It was set to be dismantled and turned into two schools, but there is no sign of this coming to fruition

The aquatics stadium, used for last year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, is currently in a state of disrepair. It was set to be dismantled and turned into two schools, but there is no sign of this coming to fruition

The threadbare pitch of the world-famous Maracana Stadium is a far cry from the days when it hosted the World Cup final and fixtures in last year's Olympic and Paralympic Games

The threadbare pitch of the world-famous Maracana Stadium is a far cry from the days when it hosted the World Cup final and fixtures in last year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games

In the aquatics centre, which was built as a temporary structure for the Games, the pool has been drained and the arena look delipidated on the inside – a far cry from the impressive venue it was last summer.

And the world-famous Maracana Stadium, which was also hosted the World Cup final in 2014, is now in a state of abandon, the once-lucious green pitch far from the top playing surface it once was.

The electricity has been turned off because of unpaid bills – estimated to total nearly $1 million, and like many other arenas used during the Games last year, questions remain over its future. The stadium was looted last month, and the consortium which manages it has called for the state to intervene.

It is thought hosting the Olympics cost the Brazilian government $3billion, with the rest of the massive bill coming from other sources.

Tapestries fixed to the outside of the aquatic centre in Rio, used for the Games, are falling down and the Olympic Park is now a cutting-edge ghost town

Tapestries fixed to the outside of the aquatic centre in Rio, used for the Games, are falling down and the Olympic Park is now a cutting-edge ghost town

It remains unclear what will happen to the buildings erected for the Games, with increasing unrest about the amount spent on the Games and the 2014 World Cup

It remains unclear what will happen to the buildings erected for the Games, with increasing unrest about the amount spent on the Games and the 2014 World Cup

A huge pile of seats, which have been torn up from the stands, inside the Maracana stadium in Rio, which hosted the 2014 World Cup final

A huge pile of seats, which have been torn up from the stands, inside the Maracana stadium in Rio, which hosted the 2014 World Cup final

The crumbling inside of the Maracana stadium is a shocking indictment of the legacy of the huge sporting events Rio has hosted in the past three years

The crumbling inside of the Maracana stadium is a shocking indictment of the legacy of the huge sporting events Rio has hosted in the past three years

Two years earlier, the Ministry of Sport stated, $11.63bn was spent on bringing the World Cup to the cash-strapped country. Such was the outcry that soccer-mad Brazilians took to the streets to protest the massive expenditure at a time when public services were under intense pressure.

This year, the New York Times reports, that at least 48 towns and cities are considering cancelling carnival celebrations this year because they cannot afford it.

In Rio, the newspaper states, authorities are predicting a budget shortfall of $1bn this year, with the state budget likely to be $6bn short. It also owes $10bn in loans.

There were big plans for the Olympic infrastructure once the Games finished.

Abandoned prefabricated houses remain next to the  Olympic golf course, created and used for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and now run by the Brazilian Golf Confederation for the public

Abandoned prefabricated houses remain next to the Olympic golf course, created and used for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and now run by the Brazilian Golf Confederation for the public

Sad legacy: The Olympic Aquatics Centre in Rio de Janeiro, which was set to be converted into two schools

Sad legacy: The Olympic Aquatics Centre in Rio de Janeiro, which was set to be converted into two schools

The taikwondo arena was set to be converted into a school, while the aquarium was due to be dismantled and turned into two schools. None of this has happened, and Brazilians have been left questioning the wisdom of hosting the event.

Last week Vera Hickmann, 42, who visited the Olympic village recently, summed up the disquiet, telling the New York Times: ‘The government didn’t have money to throw a party like that, and we’re the ones who have to sacrifice.’

While the athletes’ village was supposed to be turned into luxury homes, only a small fraction have been sold.

In its heydey, the Aquatics Centre, pictured in June last year, hosted events featuring some of the world's best known athletes

In its heydey, the Aquatics Centre, pictured in June last year, hosted events featuring some of the world’s best known athletes

Unemployment in the Brazilian capital has doubled since the Games, while GDP has fallen by 8.4 per cent.

Public employees have had their wages and pensions cut by 30 per cent as the state grapples with the economic crisis.

The sight of the arenas in disrepair has caused huge discontent in Rio. The tennis centre and velodrome are locked to the public, having failed to find new operators, and the Brazilian capital’s $20million golf course has struggled to attract new members.

Theresa Williamson, director of Catalytic Communities, an organisation which supports communities in the city’s poverty-stricken favelas, said in an interview with AAP: ‘The legacy is incredibly poor.

‘This all coincided with the economic recession but in Rio, just like the boom here was more intense because of the Olympics, now the fall is more intense because of the Olympics. Everybody here is suffering right now, of all incomes and all stripes and colours.’

Ripped seats in the dugouts at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro this month, where the stadium has fallen into disrepair

Ripped seats in the dugouts at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro this month, where the stadium has fallen into disrepair

Source: Daily Mail

Amazing Moment Olympic Hero Helps Brother Over Finish Line Before He Collapses

Dazed with heat stroke and struggling even to stand, Jonny Brownlee had to be helped over the line by brother Alistair in Mexico as the World Triathlon Series came to a dramatic close.

Alistair, who pushed Jonny over the line ahead of him in second, said the condition his brother was in was “as close to death as you can be in sport” had he not received immediate medical attention at the finish line.

Jonny went into the final race of the season in Cozumel, Mexico, in second place in the standings behind Spaniard Mario Mola, with Olympic champion Alistair out of contention having missed earlier races.


Rio silver winner Jonny needed to win the race and for Mola to finish no higher than fourth, and that was exactly what looked set to happen after the brothers had again pushed the pace hard on the swim and bike legs.

South African Henri Schoeman, who won bronze behind the Brownlees in Rio, overtook Jonny to win the race.

Jonny second-place step on the podium was left empty while Alistair and Mola heard the Spanish anthem but World Triathlon said this was a precaution.

“Following the race [Jonny Brownlee] was in recovery and doing a lot better,” they said on Twitter. “But just for safety precautions he was sent to the hospital.”


Meet The Four Paralympians That Beat Olympic 1,500m Winner

Paralympians have been breaking barriers for years, but four men broke new ground when they smashed the times set in the 1,500-meter final at last month’s Olympics.

Competing in the Paralympics men’s 1,500m T13 final on Monday for visually-impaired athletes, the top-four finishers all ran faster than Olympic 1,500m champion Matthew Centrowitz Jr.
Abdellatif Baka of Algeria stormed to gold in a world-record time of 3:48.29, followed by Tamiru Demisse of Ethiopia with silver and Henry Kirwa of Kenya with bronze. Remarkably Abdellatif’s brother Fouad, who just missed out on the podium in fourth place, finished in a time of 3:49.84, which would still have been fast enough to get Olympic gold.
“It wasn’t easy to get this gold medal,” Abdellatif Baka said. “I’ve been working one or two years nonstop, and it’s been very, very hard for me.”
Read More: CNN

Olympic Flag Arrives In Tokyo For 2020 Games

The Olympic flag arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday as Japan’s capital gears up to host the 2020 Games, with officials promising smooth sailing after Rio’s sometimes shaky 2016 instalment.

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike carried the flag during a ceremony at Haneda airport after stepping off a plane from the Brazilian host city, accompanied by a delegation who picked up a record 41 medals in Rio.

“I feel the full weight of the responsibility that this (flag) brings,” Koike told the crowd.

“I’m very happy that we’re able to bring the flag back after more than 50 years.”

Tokyo last hosted the summer Olympics in 1964, highlighting Japan’s post-war coming out party as it grew into a global economic powerhouse.

“I hope we can revive the same emotion we felt in Rio at the Tokyo Olympics,” said Saori Yoshida, a silver medallist wrestler and captain of the Rio delegation.

A kimono-clad Koike on Sunday received the flag at the closing ceremony in Rio where thousands of fans and athletes donned ponchos on a wet and windy night for a colourful festival of Brazilian culture and music with bursts of fireworks.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a comical cameo as Nintendo video game character Super Mario as Tokyo set a light-hearted tone for its hosting of the Games in four years.

Abe came out from a pipe after a video showed plumber Mario drilling down from Tokyo into the earth to reach Brazil.

“I wanted to show Japan’s soft power to the world with the help of Japanese characters,” Abe told reporters.

– ‘Peaceful, reliable’ –

Japan sold itself as a safe pair of hands to host the event and Abe pledged in Rio he would try to make it the best Games yet.

But Tokyo’s Olympic preparations have suffered high-profile setbacks including soaring costs and having to redesign the Games logo after accusations of plagiarism.

French prosecutors have also launched an investigation into alleged bribes linked to Tokyo’s winning Olympic bid, which organisers have denied.

Koike, who was elected in July as Tokyo’s first female governor, has ordered officials to rein in ballooning costs and pledged a formal review.

That came as concerns grow over soaring costs which could potentially double or even triple from the reported original forecast of $7.14 billion.

The Games were awarded to Tokyo in 2013, with expectations that they would be a model of efficiency with the city touting itself as “peaceful, reliable, safe, and stable”.

Tokyo’s metropolitan conurbation is the world’s largest with more than 35 million people, but streets are safe, trains run on time and the air is clean.

And with strict gun control and a public honesty visitors find disarming, few people ever experience serious crime.

The country is prone to natural disasters, particularly earthquakes, but strict building codes means they often pass with little or no damage.

The games in Brazil — which is embroiled in a political crisis over the impeachment of suspended president Dilma Rousseff — suffered its own series of setbacks.

Tourists, officials and athletes have had to dodge the scenic city’s notorious street crime, structural problems inside the Olympic Village were a challenge and the Olympic diving pool turned green.

Revoke Caitlyn Jenner’s Olympic Medals’ – Thousands Sign Online Petition Against The Star

A Change.org petition has been launched urging the International Olympic Committee to revoke Caitlyn Jenner ‘s Olympic gold medal.
Caitlyn won the gold medal for the decathlon in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, but now an online petition claims it was “in violation of committee rules”.The petition titled ,“Revoke Caitlyn Jenner’s Olympic medals“which is already gathering thousands of signatures was started by Jennifer Bradford who in an open letter to the Olympic Committee,writes

 “It has recently come to light that gold medalist Bruce Jenner is in fact transgender, and therefore, identifies as a woman.

 We congratulate Ms. Jenner on these new developments and wish her the best.

“However, this creates somewhat of a problem as Ms. Jenner (as talented as she is) claims that she has always believed herself to be truly female, and therefore, was in violation of committee rules regarding women competing in men’s sports and vice versa.”

They go on to suggest the medal be revoked completely….

“Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that we must ask whether or not it is proper that Ms. Jenner should retain her olympic records in light of this, as we must now either claim that Bruce Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner are two entirely different people (which we know is not true), or that Bruce Jenner was, in fact, a woman participating in a men’s event,”

 It is only fair to all involved that women receive their credit as champions of the Decathalon and that the men racing Ms. Jenner are not expected to compete with a superior, streamlined being such as herself.”

“We urge Ms. Jenner to support the transgender community by giving up the medals earned by competing against the wrong gender.

“Thank you, and congratulations to Ms. Jenner for her courage! #givebackthegold.”

It has sparked outrage from Caitlyn’s fans, but despite the shock, has already gained more than 2,700 signatures.