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Why some athletes might not want to qualify for the 2016 Olympics

Here's an interesting question: If you're a sailor, do you really want to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics?

Monday, scientists in Brazil released a report indicating a drug-resistant "super-bacteria" had been found in the Rio de Janeiro waters where the 2016 Olympic sailing events are scheduled to take place.

It's no secret that the water around Rio is, in a

A drug-resistant “super bacteria” has been discovered in the waters where Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic sailing events will be held. (AP)
A drug-resistant “super bacteria” has been discovered in the waters where Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic sailing events will be held. (AP)

word, nasty. According to the Associated Press, 70 percent of the city's sewage flows untreated into Guanabara Bay, which is shocking to anyone but those who've been to Rio, a stunningly picturesque locale that's been treated like a trash can.

"It's just a huge bay of sewage," Leona Deckelbaum, an environment protester, told NBC News.

If Olympic organizers are following through on their pledge to clean up the city (and by extension the water around it) prior to the 2016 Games, it's not entirely evident yet. According to the AP:

The Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Brazil's most respected health research institute, said it has discovered bacteria that produce an enzyme that make it resistant to most forms of treatment in water samples taken from various spots along the Carioca River. Among the spots is where the river flows into the city's Guanabara Bay, site of the 2016 sailing and wind surfing events.

And …

Water quality tests still show sky-high levels of fecal matter throughout much of the bay, and authorities have a near-blanket standing recommendation against swimming on any of its beaches. Flamengo beach, where the super bacteria was discovered, is among the Guanabara Bay beaches considered unfit for swimming.

Unfit for swimming? Ohhhh, we're talking about sailing. All good then, as you can see here:

Here:

Boats float along the shoreline of the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay. (Getty Images)
Boats float along the shoreline of the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay. (Getty Images)

And here:

Old ships surrounded by trash are seen at the Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro. (REUTERS)
Old ships surrounded by trash are seen at the Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro. (REUTERS)