Australian Olympic Chiefs Call On Brazil To Up Security After Paralympian Liesl Tesch Robbed At Gun Point

Australian Olympic officials are urging the organizers of the Rio Games to boost security ahead of the start of the international sporting event in August.

Rio Games Security

Liesl Tesch, an Australian Paralympic sailor and wheelchair basketball player, was robbed at gunpoint alongside her physiotherapist Sarah Ross at a park in Rio de Janiero over the weekend. The two women, who did not have any money on them, complied with the robbers’ demands, and ended up with their bikes stolen.

“I think he said ‘dinheiro’… which means money, so I lifted up my shirt and said: ‘Look I don’t have any money’,” Tesch, who has called Rio “a pretty scary place to be,” said. “He then said something else and pointed the gun at me and pushed me in the shoulder and I just toppled over with my bicycle and he just grabbed my bicycle, and the other guy was wrestling the bicycle from our team physio. And they just rode off into the park. It was absolutely horrific.”

As a result of the armed robbery of the athlete, Australian Olympic Committee chef de Mission Kitty Chiller is calling on the organizers to get the security forces up and running immediately instead of stalling their presence until closer to when the Games are scheduled to kick off.

“The Rio organizers need to introduce the extra security precautions as soon as possible before an athlete gets hurt. We have written to them today asking them to address this issue,” Chiller said. “This is not an isolated incident, athletes have been mugged while training or competing in Rio test events and we want our athletes protected. This is a major concern and the only answer is for the authorities to put extra police and security on the ground now.”

The Rio Olympics will commence Aug. 5. The Paralympic Games begin Sept. 7.