Eric Heil, age 26, came in third with teammate Thomas Ploessel in the 49er class in the Olympic test regatta from August 5, to August 22, in Rio’s Guanabara Bay. As is usual, the bay was filled with floating garbage, furniture and dead animals.
Peter Sowrey, the chief executive officer of sailing’s governing body told the Associated Press on the last day of the Olympic test regatta he would have the sailing events moved next year if the bay was not cleaned up, according to the Daily Mail.
Heil and his teammates flew back to Germany after the event, and on reaching Berlin, he noticed a small cut on his leg had become infected. This past week, he was hospitalized with a severe skin infection, with three inflamed areas on his legs, one on a nail, and a badly inflamed spot on his hip that required a surgical procedure to scrape off the purulent flesh.
Heil was also told by doctors that the infection was caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria. He is on a course of daily antibiotics, but as of Friday, there has been no change in his condition. On the German team’s Olympic blogsite, Heil said, “I assume I picked that up at the test regatta. The cause should be the Marina da Gloria where there is a constant flow of wastewater from the city’s hospitals.”
South Korean windsurfer Wonwoo Cho, age 20, was hospitalized during the test regatta with headaches, dehydration and severe vomiting. There were numerous other athletes that came down with various degrees of stomach ailments during the same time period.
On August 2, 2015, Digital Journal reported that the World Health organization (WHO) asked that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) start testing for viruses and also expand their testing to include more bacterial strains. At that time, apparently speaking through a blue haze of abject confusion, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said, “The health and welfare of the athletes is a top priority for the IOC. The Rio authorities are following WHO testing standards and, according to the WHO, there is no significant risk to athletes.”
And today, believe it or not, the International Sailing Federation backtracked on its threat to move the sailing venue, saying instead, “While work remains to be done, ISAF, Rio 2016 and all relevant local authorities are confident that the venue will be ready to host 380 sailors during the Olympic Sailing Competition in one year’s time.”
While we wish Eric Heil a speedy recovery and good health, Rio’s serious pollution problem appears to have gotten worse. ISAF says Rio organizers are planning to divert the flow of sewage coming from the Marina da Gloria, piping the mess elsewhere, all to be done by November this year. There are plans to close landfills, reduce industrial pollution and increase the number of water treatment plants.
