Olympics 2016: Blocked toilets, exposed wires at Rio Athletes' Village

Описание: Olympics 2016: Blocked toilets, exposed wires at Rio Athletes' Village Blocked toilets, leaky pipes and exposed wires -- just a few of the reasons Australia's Olympic delegation has refused to move in to the athletes village, now open to arriving Olympians.The village, comprised of 31 17-storey towers, opened its doors on Sunday, less than two weeks before the start of Rio's Summer Games on August 5. But the first day was marred by controversy."We felt that our building was not safe, because of a combination of plumbing and electrical issues," the Australian Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller told journalists, adding that a stress test had been carried out -- opening taps and turning on lights simultaneously -- and discovered "significant leakages.""I have never experienced, this is my fifth Olympic games, a village in this state or lack of state of readiness in that point and time," Chiller said, adding the athletes would stay in hotels until the problems were fixed.'We cannot take any chances'Read MoreBy Monday afternoon, Chiller said Australia's delegation was pleased with progress made at Olympic Village. "More needs to be done," she said, "but we expect teams to move in by Wednesday."Argentina's Olympic delegation is also renting apartments outside the Olympic Village for some of its athletes."While the apartments look finished outside, and even inside, when we started testing them, we found some problems that have to do with plumbing and electricity," said Gerardo Werthein, president of the Argentine Olympic Committee."In our building, we have five floors and two of them are uninhabitable. We are renting a number of apartments outside the villa and we will move the technical personnel and staff to privilege our athletes, so we can guarantee proper accommodations for our team," he said.Some buildings are not in bad condition, such as the facility for all soccer teams, Werthein said. "We all know how difficult it is to find accommodations outside the villa at this point, and although Rio says they will be ready, we cannot take any chances."The Italian National Olympic Committee hired electricians, plumbers and masons to finish repairs of incomplete areas of its building and ensure "normal" conditions, the organization said. "I ask the athletes maximum cooperation and understanding," said former Olympic medalist Carlo Mornati, vice-secretary of the committee.The Local Olympic Committee admitted there were some problems and said they would be addressed in the next few days.Read: 42 condoms for each Olympian "Every Olympic Village, because of its magnitude, needs some adjustments until it becomes perfect. The important thing is that everything will be resolved before the Games, without disturbing the athletes," president of Rio 2016's organizing committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman said in a statement.The mayor of Rio de Janeiro appeared to make light of the situation, however, sparking what some media have called "Kangaroogate." At a receiving ceremony at the Village, he offered to get a kangaroo for the Australian Olympic Committee."We want them to feel at home here," Eduardo Paes said. "I almost feel like putting a kangaroo to jump up and down in front of their building."Australian committee spokesman Mike Tancred told a Brazilian newspaper "we do not need kangaroos, we need plumbers to account for the many puddles found in the apartments." Fears of crime continueThe Olympic Village will be home to 17,000 athletes and coaches during the Games.The British Olympic Association acknowledged that while there were some "maintenance difficulties" with the village, the first Team Great Britain athletes will begin moving in on Tuesday.Numerous safety concerns have been raised ahead of the start of the Olympics, including the threat of international terrorism and high crime levels in the host city.Read: 'My sport needs me to win,' Usain BoltOne foreign athlete living in Rio allegedly got a taste of that crime on Saturday.New Zealand jiu jitsu athlete Jason Lee said on Facebook that he was "kidnapped" by armed men in military police uniforms and forced to withdraw cash from two separate ATMs.Jiu jitsu is not an Olympic sport, so Lee is not competing in the Games, but the former national jiu jitsu champion has lived in Rio for almost a year."I was threatened with arrest if I did not get in their private car and accompany them to two ATMs to withdraw a large sum of money for a bribe," he said on Facebook."I'm not sure what's more depres