Spanish Olympic sailors robbed in Rio at gunpoint

Three members of the Spanish Sailing Team were robbed at gunpoint in a popular tourist area close to the Marina da Glória venue.

Fernando Echavarri and Tara Pacheco part of Spanish Olympic team mugged
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Beijing 2008 Olympic champion Fernando Echavarri, his class partner, Tara Pacheco and coach Santi Lopez-Vazquez were all mugged at gunpoint, close to the Marina da Glória.

They were walking to breakfast in the Rio neighbourhood of Santa Teresa when the attack happened.

Five people, armed with two pistols, approached the trio. They are reported to have stolen a bag with money, documents and a camera.

None of the Spanish sailors were injured in the incident.

Speaking after the attack, Lopez-Vazquez said: “There were five children with two pistols. To me they have taken all the instrumental work that we had at that time. It was a very unpleasant experience.”

In a statement posted on its website on 21 May, the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation said it was now concerned about security during the 2016 Olympic Games, which will begin in August.

“The lack of security is Rio is one of the points of greatest concern to the teams,” it said.

“Fernando, Tara and Santi want to forget as quickly as possible what happened and focus solely on training they are doing, with great sights on Olympics,” the statement concluded.

In December 2014, British Olympic sailors Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark were mugged at knifepoint in Rio as they returned to their hotel from a training session.

The pair, who were in Brazil for a training camp, posted a message on their Facebook page following the ordeal.

It said: “Our delightful walk back from the from the sailing club to the hotel turned fairly nasty when two guys wielding seven inch knives ran at us, pushed us around and grabbed everything we had.

“Along with the things that were actually worth something, the most annoying thing right now is our Lycra we were sailing in got taken, unbelievable!

“Anyway, we made it back to the hotel slightly shaken but all ok, looking forward to what tomorrow brings.”

Mills and Clark are competing in the women’s 470 class in this year’s Olympic Games.