RIO DE JANEIRO - A Brazilian team strike and problems with floating weeds marred the start Friday of a canoe sprint test in Rio de Janeiro's picturesque but polluted lagoon ahead of next year's Olympic Games.
Competitors from Germany carry their boat before a Canoeing International Challenge Speed race at the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon in Rio de Janeiro on September 4, 2015 , one year before the start of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Brazilian team members refused to join the opening of the three-day test competition, one of dozens of test events being run across Rio ahead of the 2016 Games, because of a pay dispute
Heading the protest was Isaquias Queiroz, Brazil's champion sprint canoeist and winner of gold and bronze at the world championships in Milan two weeks ago.
"One reason for our decision is to do with the respect that should be paid to the athlete. It's our way of protesting. We get world results, we get in the Olympics and we were the second best sport (for medals) in the Pan Americans," she said.
"This dispute is a pity. Brazil could be a paradise for those who want results, but what about the athletes?"
Brazilian federation president Joao Tomasini Schwertner said he was "saddened" by the standoff, insisting that athletes had been paid properly.
But that wasn't the only glitch slowing down the intense sport's Rio test.
Athletes being housed in a military academy in Rio de Janeiro said they were being disturbed by the troops' 5:00 am reveille. "I'd like to know what hotel (Tomasini) is sleeping in," Queiroz said.
With nine medals at the Pan American games in Toronto in July, the sprint canoe team is one of Brazil's strongest cards in the national goal of entering the top 10 medal winners' list next summer.
- Mixed waters -
Another concern is the quality of the water in the lagoon where the canoing and rowing events will take place, right in the heart of the seaside city.
In April, thousands of dead fish appeared in the lagoon, a phenomenon which scientists say was due to temperature changes, not pollution.
Concerns have also been raised over raw sewage pouring into the nearby bay where sailing is staged.
The verdict from French team manager Vincent Olla was mixed.
"The water is not perfect, but it's not worse than in other places. Journalists have talked a lot about the topic, but we take basic precautions. We don't drink it," he said.
According to Olla, the real worry is not bacteria but something more basic for the fast boats: floating weed.
"It holds up the canoe and it's unfair on those who get caught in it," he said.
Oceanographer David Zee, from Rio University, said "the water is at an acceptable state for canoe-kayak, where contact is only secondary."
However, biologist Mario Moscatelli said athletes were lucky.
"Recently it hasn't rained and that helped with the water quality."