Rio reacts quickly to Australian complaints over state of Olympic village

AUSTRALIAN athletes are set to move into the Rio Olympic village on Wednesday after “enormous” progress was made on extensive plumbing, electricity and gas faults.

Kitty Chiller says Australian complaints over the state of the athletes’ village in Rio have been acted upon quickly.

AUSTRALIAN athletes are set to move into the Rio Olympic village on Wednesday after “enormous” progress was made on extensive plumbing, electricity and gas faults.

Workers have been on overdrive in the 24 hours since the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) announced they would relocate athletes to hotels to shield them from numerous problems rendering their apartment tower accommodation unliveable.

Blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells and dirty floors were the major issues across Australia’s designated 15 floors.

A light fitting hole with exposed wiring in a hallway in the village. Picture: GloboEsporte.com

Water all over the floor near the access to the emergency stairs. Picture: GloboEsporte.com

Local organisers had deployed extra maintenance staff and more than 1000 cleaners last week as concerns escalated into crisis talks over the weekend.

But team boss Kitty Chiller said the AOC’s complaints had sparked an immediate and rapid response.

“It’s been a really positive day actually,” Chiller said.

“There’s a lot of Australians walking around in the village with big smiles on their faces, primarily because we have athletes with us but also because there’s been an enormous amount of progress in the last 24 hours.”

WATCH Chef Kitty Chiller updates on Rio village. Athletes to move in Wednesday.https://t.co/kAMy3nSYuq#OneTeam pic.twitter.com/rCPwPTVBHu

— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) July 25, 2016

Canoeist Jessica Fox and boxer Shelley Watts were among the first six athletes to arrive early on Monday morning Brazil time. They and other imminent rivals will be put up in hotels until the AOC deems the village ready.

Chiller said three of the floors were complete as of 3pm on Monday Brazil time.

She expected the entire building to be ready for a final clean by close of business on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).

Warren Brown’s take on the state of the athletes’ village.

“Apart from seven apartments — around 30 beds — where there are still some issues around leakages that will take one or two more days,” Chiller said.

“The workers with us today have absolutely been really good, they’ve been working very hard, they’re very skilled and we’re very happy with the progress.

“It’s looking like, according to our plan, we will be able to move everybody in on Wednesday.”

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Originally published as Rio reacts quickly to Australian complaints over state of Olympic village