To walk inside the perimeter of the Olympics is to feel safe. The International Olympic Committee has the area where the Games are contested, where the athletes live and where the media work on lockdown.
You might have the occasional green water, as Rio does in some of its competition pools, but the problems inside the barriers usually are similarly benign. Ever since terrorists murdered 11 Israeli team members during the 1972 Olympics, the fenced-in area of the Games is, for two weeks or so every two years, one of the safest places on earth.
Outside the perimeter is another story, which is why the success of any Olympics shouldn’t be measured by what happens inside. Ryan Lochte and three other American swimmers were robbed at gunpoint Sunday morning in Rio. Lochte said one of the robbers, who were posing as police, put a gun to his head.
There have been at least six other incidents so far during these Games, including the assault and robbery of two Australian rowing coaches. Some of the fears about Rio are coming true.
Lesson: Don’t judge an Olympics by the cover of the Olympic Park.
