With Clear Vision, Two Americans Brace for Rio’s Polluted Waters

Photo The American sailors Helena Scutt, 23, left, and Paris Henken, 20, are trying not to be distracted by the health issues surrounding the Rio Games. Credit Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times If a broken spine, two fractured ribs and a lacerated kidney did not put an end to Helena Scutt’s Olympic dreaming, it should come as no surprise that she and her crewmate, Paris Henken, are not prepared to let the health risks in Rio de Janeiro dissuade them from taking part in their first Games.

Last month, Scutt and Henken became the first American sailors to qualify for the Rio Games. They will sail in a new Olympic class, the 49erFX, a high-performance skiff that looks more like a high-wire…