Australia’s Liesl Tesch warned that Rio was a ‘dangerous place’ after two armed thieves demanded money and then stole her bicycle on Monday

The leader of Australia’s Olympic team has called on Brazilian authorities to deploy extra security ahead of the Rio de Janeiro games after a Paralympic champion was robbed at gunpoint while training in the host city.

Australian sailor and wheelchair basketball player Liesl Tesch warned that Rio was a “dangerous place” after two armed thieves demanded money and then stole her bicycle on Monday.

The robbery came after a deadly attack by gangsters on an Olympic-approved hospital and frequent gunfights between police and drug dealers in and around favela communities.

Tesch, who is competing for the seventh time in a Paralympics, said she was on a fitness ride with her trainer at a bus stop near Flamengo beach when two muggers stopped them and demanded money. When she showed them she had no cash, one of the men pointed a gun at her, then pushed her over and grabbed her bicycle while the other seized the bike belonging to her coach.

“It was absolutely horrific, I can see it clear as day in my own head … it was a pistol,” Tesch told reporters.

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She also tweeted a warning to others who are thinking of visiting the city, later explaining: “My important message is to make it really clear, that this is a dangerous place and you’ve got to be on your guard.”

The Brazilian government has promised to deploy 85,000 police and other security personnel during the Olympics. They also stress that thousands of athletes have already visited Rio for test events that have proceeded smoothly and without reports of crime.

But the Australian Olympic Committee demanded that the hosts bring forward plans and tighten security around training venues.

“It’s not an isolated incident. It’s got to a point now that steps and measures are taken to ensure that all our team members who go to Rio for the Olympic Games next month are safe,” team leader Kitty Chiller told reporters.



Chiller said that Australia had briefed its athletes to avoid confrontation: “Basically we are saying that if you are confronted by criminals, comply, hand over your belongings and don’t argue. That is exactly what the two Paralympians did on Sunday.”

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This is not the first alarming incident. Last month, three Spanish Olympic sailors were robbed at gunpoint. At the weekend, a patient was killed and a nurse injured by stray bullets during a gunfight at Souza Aguiar hospital, which is recommended for tourists during the games.



Brazil has one of the highest murder rates in the world, but Rio had been making progress in reducing crime up until a couple of years ago thanks partly to an ambitious reform of policing policies and a program to “pacify” favelas that had previously been off-limits to the authorities as a result of drug trafficking gangs. But budget cuts and several high-profile cases of police violence have eroded confidence in the policy. Along with growing unemployment and a dire recession, this has led to an uptick in crime – though the situation is still far better than it was a decade ago.



Australia’s Olympic team has already barred athletes and officials from visiting Rio’s favelas. “The local mayor was very upset with me when we announced that the favelas were off-limits to members of our team,” Chiller said. “This was not a slur on his city, which is a beautiful and vibrant city. It is a simple security precaution.”