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The seven most chaotic things that have happened in only 36 hours of the Olympics

The games only began on Friday evening...

Caroline Mortimer
Sunday 07 August 2016 11:49 EDT
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The Rio games opened on Friday night
The Rio games opened on Friday night (Getty Images)

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The Rio 2016 games have only been underway for a single day and already it has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Here are some of the weirdest and most ridiculous moments from the first 24 hours of the two-week tournament.

A bullet hits the equestrian centre

A hole can be seen in the side of the media centre at the equestrian centre
A hole can be seen in the side of the media centre at the equestrian centre (Getty)

Journalists covering the tournaments’ equestrian events did not get the warmest of welcomes after a stray bullet tore through their press tent from the military training camp next door. Fortunately no one was hurt.

A kayaker may have capsized after hitting a sofa

The reports that a kayaker may have struck a sofa are so far unconfirmed. Pictured: A sofa dredged up on the side of Guanabara Bay, where the sailing events are taking place, on 2 August 2016
The reports that a kayaker may have struck a sofa are so far unconfirmed. Pictured: A sofa dredged up on the side of Guanabara Bay, where the sailing events are taking place, on 2 August 2016 (Getty Images)

Olympic organisers are looking to claims that an unnamed kayaker is said to have collided with a submerged sofa. Sky News reported the story on Friday but an Olympic official said it was the first he had heard of it when asked.

Police forced to queue for hours over security concerns

Sports fans have been reportedly missing events due to slow moving queues outside the stadiums
Sports fans have been reportedly missing events due to slow moving queues outside the stadiums (REUTERS)

Organisers have been forced to apologise to fans after fans reportedly miss events while being kept waiting at security checkpoints outside the venues. Many athletes competed in front of half empty stadiums as spectators were unable to get inside quick enough.

They ran out of water at the rowing venue

Fans at the Lagoa Stadium on Sunday after events were canceled. They were unable to quench their thirst at the stadium's bars on Saturday
Fans at the Lagoa Stadium on Sunday after events were canceled. They were unable to quench their thirst at the stadium's bars on Saturday (REUTERS)

Bars at the Lagoa Stadium, where spectators watched the rowing, were feeling the heat yesterday after they ran out of drinking water at 11am. Given the 30C heat, it is unlikely that fans were too pleased.

Controlled explosion at the finishing line of the men's road race

A controlled explosion by Brazil's anti-bomb squad took place near the finish line
A controlled explosion by Brazil's anti-bomb squad took place near the finish line (Getty)

Cyclists thought the only thing they had to worry about where the steep descents and tight corners during the men's road race on Saturday.

But they probably weren't expecting a bomb scare at the finishing line just two and a half hours before they arrived. A loud bang was heard over the top of the BBC's coverage of the race followed by several seconds of silence before the commentator was able to determine that it was a controlled explosion carried out by police.

Medics rushed to the aid of a gymnast with a broken leg. Then dropped him

Samir Ait Said suffered a bad fracture after falling while competing in the gymnasts competition
Samir Ait Said suffered a bad fracture after falling while competing in the gymnasts competition (EPA)

The tragic end to Frenchman Samir Ait Said's Rio 2016 dreams could not escape an element of farce when the medics taking him to hospital dropped his stretcher while taking him to the ambulance.

Serbian rowers capsized into the polluted water after attempting to compete in choppy waters

Milos Vasic and Nenad Bedik had be helped out of the water after being capsized during the men's heat in Rio
Milos Vasic and Nenad Bedik had be helped out of the water after being capsized during the men's heat in Rio (AP)

Organisers are defending their decision to allow rowers to compete in the men's heat despite the rough water and crosswinds.

Serbian rowing duo, Milos Vasic and Nenad Bedlik, tossed into the water by the vicious waves - undoubtedly inhaling a mouthful or two of the water which has been described as so polluted "three teaspoons" of it is enough to make a person ill.

But it wasn't all bad....

Yusra Mardini has won her heat of the Women's 100m Butterfly but she will not be able to go forward to the semi-final
Yusra Mardini has won her heat of the Women's 100m Butterfly but she will not be able to go forward to the semi-final (Getty Images)

A Syrian teenager who, along with her sister and two others, pushed an overcrowded dinghy for three hours in the Mediterranean sea last year after the motor broke has won her heat at Rio.

She is part of the very first refugee team to compete at the Olympics as part of a recognition of the largest refugee crisis since the Second World War.

Unfortunately, along she won her heat, her time was not fast enough for her to go through to the final 16. She finished in 41st place overall.

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