U.S. Olympian: Stop trying to ruin the Olympics for us

Many concerns have been raised about the water quality in Rio de Janeiro, but one Olympic rower says that the worries are distracting from the most important part of the games: The athletes themselves.

Megan Kalmoe will be representing the U.S. in her third Olympic Games after finishing fifth in double sculls in Beijing in 2008 and earning bronze in quadruple sculls in London in 2012. She’s heard the media raise doubts about the readiness of host cities before and she’s sick of it.

“My request to everyone who is fixated on [expletive] in the water: Stop. Stop trying to ruin the Olympics for us,” Kalmoe wrote in a blog post last week.

“At this point, it is known that there are issues with the water quality. It is known that athletes are going to be at risk for illness. It is known that we are going to have to be smart, hygienic and take precautions. Great. Let’s move on,” Kalmoe wrote.

Other Olympians participating in aquatic sports have raised concerns and discussed their strategies to avoid the potentially harmful water in Brazil, including waterproof suits and plenty of bleach.

But Kalmoe is ready for everyone to move on and focus on the competition. She’s seen similar complaints in the last two Olympics and isn’t concerned that Rio de Janeiro will be the disaster so many believe it will inevitably be.

“In Beijing, people were hyper-focused on air quality. In London, the criticism fell on budget and timeline issues. This year, it’s more of the same and people seem more motivated than ever to portray the impending Rio Games as the biggest-ever disaster that hasn’t happened yet.”

Kalmoe will compete in the quadruple sculls again, teaming with Adrienne Martelli, Grace Latz and Tracy Eisser. Martelli and Kalmoe were part of the team that won bronze four years ago, but Latz and Eisser will each compete in their first Olympics.

Rowing competition will begin Aug. 6 with the final for women’s quadruple sculls set for Aug. 10.