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Workers gather debris carried by the tide and caught by the "eco-barrier" before entering Guanabara Bay July 20.

With the opening ceremony for 2016 Summer Olympics set to begin next week in Rio de Janeiro, health experts are warning athletes about the filthy mess that is Guanabara Bay.

The New York Times reports that marathon swimmers, sailors and windsurfers have been told to swim with their mouths closed because the water is full of human waste that is being pumped into the Bay on a daily basis.

Add to that rats making a home in the filth and dead animal carcasses, creating a cesspool of bacteria. The smell is so bad it makes visitors feel like fainting or throwing up, according to USA Today.

When Rio was awarded the Olympics seven years ago, government officials promised to have the mess cleaned, but experts say the problem is actually worse now than it was then.

According to The Times, athletes face health risks from rotaviruses that can cause diarrhea and vomiting to drug-resistant 'superbacteria' that can be fatal to people with weakened immune systems.

"I see the same thing I saw nine years ago. The water is still very dirty," resident Luiz Goldfeld told USA Today. "At night the waters stinks, but nothing's changed. Still the same thing for nine years here. Unfortunately, they had the opportunity to change and they didn't do anything. The raw (sewage) comes from downtown and they don't have any treatment. It's pure shit."

"(Officials) used the Olympic games to put money in their pockets," Goldfeld continued. "They don't think (about) the Olympic legacy. We had the great opportunity to do things for the city, but wasted this opportunity. It smells like shit because it's full of shit. I don’t believe most of what we hear from the politicians, but I expected something would be done with the Olympics coming.”

SMFH...

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