Rio Athletes Village

RNZ reports Chef de Mission Auali'itia Fa'afouina Milford said with the Manu Samoa sevens team surprisingly failing to qualify for the games, medal hopes are slim for the country but he said exposing the likes of teen swimmers Evelina Afoa and Brandon Schuster to the Olympics as wild card entrants was a great thing.

"That was the aim that we did have in the past, to have this contingent this year to come up with a big number but it is really unfortunate that our rugby sevens didn't make it," Auali'itia said.

Chef de mission Kitty Chiller said the problems included "blocked toilets, leaking pipes and exposed wiring", with the first Australian athletes to arrive, on July 21, living in hotels due to the state of the village. 

Chiller said some village apartments had water running down the walls and "a strong smell of gas," while stairwells were unlit and floors were in need of a massive clean.