Concerns and controversies at the 2016 Summer Olympics

A number of notable controversies and concerns associated with the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, emerged which were the subject of public debate and media commentary.

[4][5] Dr. Amir Attaran of the University of Ottawa, writing for the Harvard Public Health Review, noted that Rio had the highest concentration of Zika infections out of all Brazilian states.

The WHO dismissed the request, stating that "cancelling or changing the location of the 2016 Olympics will not significantly alter the international spread of Zika virus", and that there was "no public health justification" for postponing them.

[4][5][8] Many athletes declined to participate in the Games citing concerns over Zika, including Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych, Simona Halep, Karolína Plíšková, The Bryan brothers, Jason Day, Tejay van Garderen, Branden Grace, Dustin Johnson, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel, Angelo Que and Jordan Spieth.

[9][10][11][12][13] [14][15][16][17] As the majority of the athletes that have pulled out were golfers, International Golf Federation president Peter Dawson believed that there was "something of an overreaction" to Zika, stating that "I think I should say now that I don't think it's appropriate for us to discuss individual cases, especially as they're generally decisions that have been taken on health grounds.

[2] In 2014, sailors training in the bay told The New York Times that they had to contend with dodging various forms of trash floating in its waters, ranging from tires to dog carcasses.

[24] In 2015, it was found that because of open drainage and severe pollution, the incidence of "disease-causing viruses" in Rio's waterways was measured to be "1.7 million times the level of what would be considered hazardous on a Southern California beach".

[22] In 2014, Operation Car Wash, an investigation by the Federal Police of Brazil, uncovered unprecedented money laundering and corruption at the state-controlled oil company Petrobras, where executives allegedly accepted bribes in return for awarding contracts to construction firms at inflated prices.

In early 2015, a series of protests against alleged corruption by the government of President Dilma Rousseff began in Brazil, triggered by revelations that numerous politicians were involved in the Petrobras affair.

[36] In his speech during the Olympic torch lighting ceremony in Olympia, IOC President Thomas Bach commented on Brazil's political situation: "This will be the Brazilian Games.

Prior to the impeachment vote, the majority of Brazilians supported holding new general elections as a way to solve the political crisis, while only 8% favored Temer's rise to power.

[45] The IOC has expressed optimism regarding the ability of the city and the nation of Brazil to address these concerns, saying that seven years is enough time for Rio de Janeiro to clean up its crime problem.

[47][48][49] Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, former president of Brazil, noted that the city has hosted other high-profile events without major incidents, for example the 2007 Pan American Games.

[55][57] Gang-related shootings on the Red Line expressway, the main road to the Olympic site, were said to be commonplace and had claimed several lives, including that of a 17-year-old girl in May.

[59] On 30 June 2016, police near the Olympic beach volleyball venue in Copacabana found a foot and other body parts on the shore, possibly from "a woman or young adult" who had been killed.

[55][60] On 21 July 2016, the Federal Police of Brazil arrested ten members of an alleged Islamic jihadist terrorist ring accused of planning attacks during the games.

[66] On 9 May 2014, the London Evening Standard reported IOC vice-president John Coates calling Brazil's preparations "the worst I’ve experienced" and went on to claim that construction and infrastructure projects were severely behind schedule.

[68][69] On 21 April—the day that the Olympic torch was lit—a 50 metres (164 ft) section of the Tim Maia bike path, crossing the Oscar Niemeyer Avenue in São Conrado neighborhood and a part of the legacy of the games, was hit by a giant wave and collapsed.

Some officials deemed the athletes' village as "unlivable" and unsafe because of major plumbing and electrical hazards still present a fortnight before the opening of the Rio Olympics.

McLaren's investigation found corroborating evidence, concluding in a report published in July 2016 that the Ministry of Sport and the FSB had operated a "state-directed failsafe system" using a "disappearing positive [test] methodology" (DPM) from "at least late 2011 to August 2015".

[76] In response to these findings, WADA announced that RUSADA should be regarded as non-compliant with respect to the World Anti-Doping Code and recommended that Russia be banned from competing at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

[84] Writing for Deutsche Welle in Germany, Olivia Gerstenberger said that the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach had "flunked" his first serious test, adding, "With this decision, the credibility of the organization is shattered once more, while that of state-sponsored doping actually receives a minor boost".

[99] On 9 August, a bus carrying international media was traveling between the Deodoro hockey venue and the main press center at Barra da Tijuca was attacked.

On 8 December 2016 Russian boxer Misha Aloyan was stripped of the silver medal in 52 kg boxing at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics after testing positive for tuaminoheptane.

[119] Nijat Rahimov originally won the gold medal in men's 77 kg weightlifting but was disqualified in March 2022 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a doping violation (urine substitutions in the weeks before the Games).

The report stated that there were at least 11 fights at the Rio games that were suspicious, including the controversial defeats of Conlan and Levit as well as the gold medal match between France's Tony Yoka and Great Britain's Joe Joyce.

[128] Researchers at two American universities questioned whether a current in the pool may have affected swimming times, giving some an unfair advantage in the Rio Olympics, particularly in the single-length 50m events.

[131] Lochtegate is a name of a scandal involving United States swim team members Ryan Lochte, Jimmy Feigen, Gunnar Bentz, and Jack Conger during the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

[140][141] Hines, a heterosexual married man, signed up for several gay and straight dating apps, including Tinder, Bumble and Grindr, and documented his experiences in the Olympic Village.

[151] The president of GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis, wrote "How this reporter thought it was OK—or that somehow it was in the public's interest—to write about his deceitful encounters with these men reflects a complete lack of judgment and disregard for basic decency, not to mention the ethics of journalism".