Australia demands extra security in Rio de Janeiro after armed robbery ahead of Olympic Games

The Australian Olympic Committee have demanded Rio de Janeiro immediately ramps up security in the city after a Paralympic sailor and team official were robbed at gunpoint while training for the Olympic Games at the weekend.

Australia’s Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller said the incident was a “light warning” and that she had written to the organising committee and mayor demanding action.

“We’re demanding that the level of security forces, which number about 100,000, is reviewed and also we are also asking that they are deployed earlier prior to Games time, especially around training and competition venues,” she told reporters in Sydney.

“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.”

Paralympic sailor Liesl Tesch and physiotherapist Sarah Ross said they were taking a bike ride in a park near their hotel at Flamengo Beach early on Sunday when they were confronted by two men, one of whom was carrying a pistol.