It appears the state of the Olympic Village is not the only thing Australians need to worry about when it comes to the 2016 Olympics, after a man possibly posing as a woman tried to mug a Channel Nine cameraman soon after he landed in Rio.

The cameraman and a Channel Nine journalist landed in Rio last Thursday night and were on their way to film a piece to camera on Copacabana beach when the attempted mugging occurred.

A person referred to by a member of the Nine crew as a "transvestite" tried to steal the cameraman's equipment, which was hidden in a bag.

When a security guard accompanying the Channel Nine team intervened, he was struck on the head with a handbag, containing a "heavy" object.