RIO DE JANEIRO – Luiz Goldfeld was excited in 2009 when he heard the Olympics were coming to Rio de Janeiro and the sailing events would take place on Guanabara Bay.
Goldfeld, now 48, loves sports, especially sailing, and was eager to watch some of the events from his houseboat at a picturesque marina on the bay.
With the Brazilian economy booming and opportunities seeming endless, he thought the arrival of the Games would spark a long-needed push to clean up a bay that is as unpleasant to the nose as it is picturesque to the eye.
“It smelled like (expletive) because it was full of (expletive),” Goldfeld told USA TODAY Sports. “I thought this was a chance to do something for the legacy. I don’t believe most of what we hear from the politicians, but I expected something would be done with the Olympics coming.”
Seven years later and with the start of the Olympics less than two weeks away, Goldfeld has discovered that, just as (expletive) happened then, (expletive) happens now. Tons of raw sewage are pumped into the bay each day. A giant pipe running from downtown churns human waste into the marina at certain times each day. Rats roam around in the waste. The stench makes uninitiated visitors feel like vomiting or fainting.
