Rowers say they have no complaints about water
RIO DE JANEIRO — No one can deny that Rio is putting its best face forward: a refreshing breeze rippled across the sparkling waters of the city's lagoon, which sits below the Christ the Redeemer statue and is surrounded by greenery. Teens skateboarded and families strolled with their children around the lagoon's bike path Saturday.
Anders Weiss, a U.S. rower from Rhode Island, downplayed concerns about pollution in the lagoon waters where he had just rowed.
"My motto is that if you see wildlife out there, you're good," he said. He also joked that he would have traded a little less wildlife to also have less wind Saturday.
He has been taking basic hygiene precautions. "Just keep your (water) bottles in the Ziploc bag," he said. "I feel fine."
Weiss was fourth in his heat with Nareg Guregian.
Canada's Eric Woelfl, 27, agreed that there were no issues with the venue.
"This is my first time here and I'm happy to be here. This is a beautiful venue," Woelfl said.
He said he wasn't concerned about illness and hygiene because of the dirty water and that Games organizers had made a great effort to ensure athletes' health and safety. "Not even the slightest bit," he answered when asked if he was concerned about the water.
"We stepped up our hygiene, obviously, no one wants to get sick."
Brendan Hodge, also on the Canadian team, is rowing on these waters for the first time. "The nature of the event is such that we would have taken extra precautions," said Hodge, who also said he found concerns over water quality overhyped. "It seemed like people were searching for an issue," he added.
"We're lucky in our sport. We visit spectacular places," he said, adding that Rio's lagoon "is definitely upper end" amongst venues where he's raced.
Asked about his impressions of Rio, he added: "If the opening ceremony was any reflection on the city, I'm looking forward to finding out."
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