Shirley Robertson: Cautiously Optimistic on Rio

Shirley Robertson OBE made it in the history books by becoming the first British woman to win two Olympic Gold Medals at consecutive games, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. Now she presents and produces CNN’s monthly sailing TV programme ‘Mainsail’. Here she provides an update on the venue for Sailing at the 2016 Olympic Games…

A video posted by Shirley robertson (@shirleysail) on Jun 6, 2016 at 3:45am PDT

Last week in Rio with CNN Mainsail….sailing on the Medal race course in Guanabara Bay. It’s got the looks – no doubt – the aerials of the racing will be stunning. But would I want to be fighting for my medal there? No! ‘Challenging’ is the universal response. I really hope for the sailors and the sport it works out. More on the water issues in next video….

A video posted by Shirley robertson (@shirleysail) on Jun 6, 2016 at 4:05am PDT

Was shocked to see it for myself. All human waste (13 million humans in Rio) floating by just a few kilometers from Guanabara Bay on its way to float by the sailing courses. The sides of the river piled high with … well…everything. It’s like something from the 17th century, apart from the plastic… and there’s plenty of that.

On a positive note, Marina da Glória has been cleaned up where the sailors will launch. No more paddling out in raw sewage. I really want this Games to be remembered for great sporting moments and not for illness or medals decided by plastic bags on foils. The sport and the athletes have been so let down. What happened to athlete welfare and a fair racetrack?

It’s too late for anything to change so, like World Sailing, I’ll be hoping it doesn’t rain, the wind doesn’t blow from the South, and the tides are not too high. And if anyone asks… I’ll be cautiously optimistic.

For the official line from ROCOG (Rio 2016 Organizing Committee) regarding the water quality issues, we spoke to Tania Braga, Head of Sustainability.

A video posted by Shirley robertson (@shirleysail) on Jun 6, 2016 at 3:48pm PDT