RIO DE JANEIRO – Rio de Janeiro's state environment secretary has taken a dip in the sewage- and trash-filled waters of the Guanabara Bay, the site where the 2016 Olympic sailing events are to take place.
Footage of Andre Correa's brief swim was broadcast on the Globo television network's "Fantastico" show Sunday. The secretariat confirmed Monday it was indeed Correa who dove, fully clothed, into the bay.
The stunt was meant to assuage worries about water quality in the bay, which the government pledged to cleanup ahead of the games. Officials have acknowledged those pledges will not be met.
With poor sewage and trash collection systems, much of the waste in this city of 12 million ends up in the bay.
Athletes have warned that contact with the water could harm Olympians' health.
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