By Tracey Holmes
Without doubt the Rio Olympic Games, due to start on August 5, are on track to be quite possibly the worst Games in living memory.
The 1936 Berlin Olympics were hijacked by the Nazi propaganda machine; the 1970s Games are remembered as the era of East German doping and the Israeli hostage crisis; the 1980s were the boycott Games and now, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, we face a Games beset by security issues, political turmoil, the Zika virus, doping sagas and more.
A man works near a display of Olympic rings at the official Olympics megastore on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.Credit: Getty Images
This week a series of arrests were made of members of a group allegedly declaring allegiance to Islamic State – and with plans to conduct attacks during the Rio Games. According to Brazil's Justice Minister, Alexandre de Moraes, the group was in the process of attempting to buy weapons.
Since the Munich massacre in 1972, when a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September took 11 Israeli team members hostage – all of whom were later killed in a botched rescue attempt – security has been of prime importance to the International Olympic Committee.
Military medical personnel in suits attend a drill, simulating a biological or nuclear attack, at Galeo Air Base in Rio de Janeiro. Security preparations for the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Olympics are to be reviewed following the Nice attack.Credit: Renata Brito
Governments the world-over are struggling to counter terrorist attacks and lone-wolf shootouts. Despite huge intelligence gathering operations and the sharing of knowledge across borders, devastating attacks have occurred in the USA, France, Belgium, Turkey and Iraq, just to name a few.
The Brazilian government's promise of a security force of 85,000 troops offers little comfort, particularly in a country where most other promises surrounding the Olympic Games have fallen well short in delivery.
Few of the government ministers who were charged with delivering the Games remain in power – impeachment proceedings were launched against President Dilma Rousseff. In the space of a couple of months the sports minister, health minister and head of the national force for public security all resigned.
The recent unfurling of a banner by city police officers at Rio's international airport added to concerns. The banner read, "Welcome to hell. Police and firefighters don't get paid. Whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro will not be safe."
Brazilian soldiers stand on patrol during a security rehearsal of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games opening ceremony outside Maracana stadium last week.Credit: Getty Images
While the public relations exercise worked for the police, it was another nail in the coffin for international observers already sceptical of Rio's ability to host a successful Olympics. The city's authorities managed to get approval for the release of 2.9 million Brazilian Reals ($1.2 billion) as emergency funding to pay the police and yet the current crime wave in the city continues.
Health concerns are also a big issue. The mixed reporting of the Zika virus has left many potential visitors and Olympic athletes confused. Olympic organisers have teamed with the World Health Organisation to announce any potential threat is minimal; a group of academic experts argues the opposite.
Many of the world's top 20 golfers have pulled out of the Games, some of whom cite Zika as the reason. Golf courses and mosquitos go hand in hand.
Like the police, health workers have also complained of not being paid. The health system is described as being at crisis point in Rio.
The hospital nominated as the go-to facility for international visitors was recently the scene of a gang-related shootout.
And what of the Games themselves, the actual sporting contest that billions of television viewers are expected to tune in for? Well, they too are at breaking point.
In the next few days the International Olympic Committee will be forced to make a decision on whether all Russian competitors will be banned. It follows confirmation of a state-sponsored doping program that has already ruled out the entire Russian track and field team. Most other sports have also been implicated.
If Russia, one of the Olympic movement's most powerful and successful nations, is ruled out entirely, expect President Vladimir Putin to revive Cold War tactics. On the other hand, if Russia is allowed to compete, already sceptical international observers will be left feeling that the real gold medal winner in Rio will be politics – yet again.
Tracey has reported on the politics and social impact of sport since the early 1990s. Rio will be her 11th Olympic Games. Tracey currently works for the ABC and is host of The Ticket, a weekly show discussing sport's biggest issues.