Will Rio be ready?

• Author: Ross, Brooke
• Position: INTERNATIONAL - 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The 2016 Summer Olympics were supposed to be an opportunity for Brazil to showcase itself as a nation on the rise. But things haven't gone as planned.

This summer, Paris Henken, 20, will achieve one of her lifelong dreams. The sailor from Coronado, California, recently qualified to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August. Henken, along with her teammate, Helena Scutt, 23, will race in a new Olympic sailing event, the 49erFX. The high-energy water sport looks more like a trapeze act than traditional sailing, as athletes are suspended off the side of their boat on wires, racing to steer the vessel to the finish line.

The event will be held in Rio's Guanabara Bay, but before Henken and Scutt hit the waves, Olympic organizers are advising them--and all aquatic athletes--to take some extra precautions. Use hand sanitizer. Bleach your equipment after competing. And by all means, try not to swallow any water.

Why? Several of Rio's Olympic waterways are contaminated, rife with garbage and raw sewage. And although officials have been working on the problem, the cleanup is not happening at the rate initially promised.

Polluted waters are just one of the many problems facing the host country. Brazil is facing a global health emergency--the spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has caused an increase in babies born with major birth defects. The country is also dealing with a recession and a widespread corruption scandal. And at press time, Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, was facing possible impeachment. The crises have everyone from athletes to ticket holders worried that Rio is unprepared to host one of the world's biggest sporting events.

Broken Promises?

"The Olympic Games are the last thing on everybody's mind right now," says Sergio Praga, a Brazilian political scientist. "This was supposed to be a great year for Brazil and Rio, but it's been anything but that."

About 500,000 people are expected to descend on Rio this summer for the Olympics. The event will feature competitions in 42 sports, including new additions golf and rugby. Approximately 10,500 athletes from more than 150 countries will compete. Plus, for the first time in Olympic history, there will be a team made up of refugees.

In 2009, when Rio won its bid to host the Games, many Brazilians flooded into the streets in celebration. The decision to entrust the event to Brazil--the first South American nation to host an Olympics--seemed to confirm the...