TEAM: With tradesmen working around the clock in the Olympic Village floors are gradually being made safe in block 23 where the Australian Team will reside. Cleaners are now able to move in and make final preparations for the athletes.
After needing to delay the arrival of athletes into the Village, due to serious plumbing and electrical issues, the estimated check-in day for athletes will be on Wednesday, two days later than planned.
Australian Olympic Team Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller is very pleased with the progress and thanked all the workers for their hard work and the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, IOC, the Mayor and the City of Rio for recognising the seriousness of the situation and providing the necessary support.
“The workers that were with us today have been very good, really skilled and doing a fantastic job,” Chiller said.
“There has been enormous progress made in the past 24 hours. We now have three floors that are complete and as we were just walking out of the Village a whole crew of cleaners were just walking in to complete a further three floors. We have 15 floors in building 23.”
Chiller was asked by local media if she felt the complaints, all be it acknowledged as warranted, would have a negative image with Brazilian people.
“I certainly hope not,” Chiller said. “The complaints were not against Brazil, were not against Rio, or the people of Rio. It’s a beautiful country, a beautiful city and with beautiful people.
“All of the volunteers have been absolutely wonderful and next to Sydney the best we have ever seen,” she said to a laugh from the large media contingent.
Chiller stands by her comments to ensure the safety of the 410 athletes on the Australian Team
She explained she had ‘a date with the Mayor on Wednesday and he will hand over the keys and we have a present for him and I look forward to meeting him.’
She was not worried about who was paying the bill for the necessary work but focussed on getting the job done.
The first six athletes from Canoe Slalom and Boxing arrived this morning and are staying in alternative Rio 2016 accommodation until Wednesday. They got to look around the outside of the Village and they were very relaxed about not being able to sleep in the Village straight away.
“We got to look around the outside of the Village today and I couldn’t keep the smile off my face it looks amazing,” boxer Shelley Watts said.
“We are very grateful that the AOC took the step to make sure that safety was the number one issue for us so when we do finally come it to the Village we have no worries or concerns about that.”
A further 24 Australian athletes will arrive in Rio late on Tuesday.
By Wednesday all athletes and officials that are in Rio will be able to move in. There will still be seven apartments, around 30 beds, with issues around leakages that will be resolved a few days later.
Chiller is relieved and happy that the Team’s plans for providing a high performance environment for athletes and a life best experience was getting back on track.
Jason Whateley, who just missed selected for London 2012, was another athlete very pleased to be in Rio and was very impressed by the ‘it is beautiful all the scenery is fantastic and we’ve been looked after with our accommodation so there are no dramas and we are just happy to be here.”
Andrew Reid
olympics.com.au
