--- title: Australian Team Rejects Rio 2016 Olympic Village description: After checking out the accommodations in Rio de Janeiro, the Australian team refuses to house its athletes at the Olympic Village. canonical: https://time.com/4421529/australian-team-olympic-village/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-25T13:59:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:30:46.058Z article:section: Sports og:title: Australian Team Says It Won't Stay in the Olympic Village og:description: And not even a kangaroo will change their minds og:url: https://time.com/4421529/australian-team-olympic-village/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd90debdecdac00ff/69889f17f887dc28b3e96c62/australian-olympics-team-village-rio-kangaroo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4564 og:image:height: 2567 og:image:alt: australian olympics team village rio kangaroo.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Australian Team Says It Won't Stay in the Olympic Village twitter:description: And not even a kangaroo will change their minds twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd90debdecdac00ff/69889f17f887dc28b3e96c62/australian-olympics-team-village-rio-kangaroo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Australian Team Says It Won't Stay in the Olympic Village in Rio > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jul 25, 2016 1:59 PM UTC  A toy kangaroo did make an appearance on the towels of the Australian team during the London 2012 Olympic Games. A toy kangaroo did make an appearance on the towels of the Australian team during the London 2012 Olympic Games.Mark Ralston—AFP/Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jul 25, 2016 1:59 PM UTC After checking out the accommodations in Rio de Janeiro, the Australian team[ refused to house](http://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/36879349) its athletes at the Olympic Village. Team leader Kitty Chiller released [a statement](http://rio2016.olympics.com.au/news/village-not-safe-or-ready-chiller-statement) Sunday noting problems such as “blocked toilets, leaking pipes and exposed wiring, darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed and dirty floors in need of a massive clean.” The team was supposed to move into their rooms in the Village on July 21, but has remained at hotels nearby instead as the facilities undergo “stress tests” to check if they can be suitable. Rio’s mayor, in the meantime, tried to draw the Australian athletes to the Village in other ways. “We want them to feel at home here,” mayor Eduardo Paes said, [_CNN_ ](http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/24/sport/australia-olympics-village-kangaroo/index.html)[reports](http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/24/sport/australia-olympics-village-kangaroo/index.html). “I almost feel like putting a kangaroo to jump up and down in front of their building.” But an Australian committee spokesman declined that offer in a local newspaper. “We do not need kangaroos,” spokesman Mike Tancred [said to the paper.](http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/esporte/olimpiada-no-rio/2016/07/1794955-nao-queremos-cangurus-queremos-encanadores-diz-australia-em-resposta-a-paes.shtml?cmpid=comptw) “We need plumbers to account for the many puddles found in the apartments.” \[[_CNN_](http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/24/sport/australia-olympics-village-kangaroo/index.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4421529/australian-team-olympic-village/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4421529/australian-team-olympic-village/"},"headline":"The Australian Team Says It Won't Stay in the Olympic Village in Rio","datePublished":"2016-07-25T13:59:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:30:46.058Z","description":"And not even a kangaroo will change their minds","url":"https://time.com/4421529/australian-team-olympic-village/","keywords":["Sports topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd90debdecdac00ff/69889f17f887dc28b3e96c62/australian-olympics-team-village-rio-kangaroo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd90debdecdac00ff/69889f17f887dc28b3e96c62/australian-olympics-team-village-rio-kangaroo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"australian olympics team village rio kangaroo.jpg","caption":"australian olympics team village rio kangaroo.jpg","creditText":"Mark Ralston—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4421529/australian-team-olympic-village/","name":"The Australian Team Says It Won't Stay in the Olympic Village in Rio"}}]}] ```