This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Beverly Hills, Calif. • If everything goes according to her plan and Gevvie Stone books her ticket to the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro this April, the American rower already has a prioritized list of precautions in place.
If it's practice or another Olympic row, the 30-year-old who finished seventh in women's single sculls at the London Games in 2012 must place all water bottles on board in plastic bags. She'll want to double-check those seals, just to make sure. It'll be up to her to wash her hands extensively after she comes into shore, and add on some hand sanitizer afterward for good measure.
And once she's done with all of that, she'll need to work on bleaching the handles of the oars to best kill any potential lingering bacteria or viruses that clung on.
Those preventive measures are just the main four, she said. All of which are par for the course.
Because the ongoing conversation ahead of these Rio Games still swirls around the extreme pollution levels in places like the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon, where the world's best rowers go for gold. Same goes for the Guanabara Bay, the location of the sailing venue.
Sewage systems and waterways in and around Rio often remain as one, building spots for disease and collecting debris. Much of which has flowed straight into Guanabara Bay, the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon and water surrounding the picturesque Copacabana Beach.
"I'm in a boat by myself," Stone said. "There's no one watching me when I go to practice, so it is up to me to put my water bottle in a plastic bag and make sure it's sealed so the water doesn't actually touch where I'm putting my mouth."
The attention these venues have received so far have been thorough and eye-opening for a world set to descend on one of the most scenic cities on earth. Last August at a test event for these upcoming Games, 13 athletes on the 40-member U.S. rowing team became sick with a stomach virus at the junior world championships. It was suspected that the pollution in the lagoon caused the illness.
Stone was quick to remind reporters though that a female junior rower who flipped her vessel into the lagoon was one of the athletes who did not come down with the illness.
"I think it's important to take the precautions very seriously and to be aware of it," she said.
Those anticipating the Rio Games are growing increasingly aware of the issue. According to an ESPN special report last month, 100 tons of trash is reportedly dumped into the bay on a daily basis. More than 150,000 gallons of raw sewage flows into Guanabara Bay every minute.
Alan Ashley, chief of sport performance for the U.S. Olympic Committee, said the Rio organizing committee has taken "a lot of steps" to mitigate the pollution in the bay. Understanding it's not clean yet, Ashley said those tasked with doing so are getting close in some instances.
"They've done a lot of work to figure out to control the pollution that's going into the bay and many of those projects are really coming to a conclusion now," Ashley said.
Ashley went on to say despite the various reports of the state of the water pollution levels in the venues around Rio, he's seen progress.
Mario Andrada, spokesman for the Rio Games, said every two weeks tests are performed in search of bacterias, instructions recommended to organizers from the World Health Organization. Andrada added the water will be tested daily during the Games.
When Brazil was awarded the 2014 Games in 2009, the state government promised to treat 80 percent of the sewage being dumped into the bay each day, Andrada said. At the time five years ago, only 12 percent was being treated. Andrada said over 60 percent of the sewage is currently being treated before entering the bay.
"The bay has been a point of attention to the globe, not only to Rio and the Brazilians," he said. "We've done our homework and you're going to see great competition there."
Sailing teammates Briana Provancha and Annie Haeger have competed on the venue in the bay eight times since 2014. Provancha said sailing is one of the only sports to have two Olympic test events in the lead up to the Games.
As for the excess trash, she said it isn't unique to the bay.
"Debris in the water is an issue in any sailing venue around the world," she said.
But the potential of falling ill remains on the minds of the sailors. Haeger said they'll keep soft drinks like Coke on board to swish around and eventually spit out in the event too much water is ingested during the event in hopes of quickly killing any bacteria.
"We are prepared for whatever Rio throws at us," Provancha said.
Twitter: @chriskamrani