An Australian Paralympic sailor and official have been threatened with a gun and robbed while training in Rio de Janeiro at the weekend, less than two months out from the Olympics.

Australian Sailing confirmed in a statement that athlete Liesl Tesch and team official Sarah Ross were confronted by two men while riding their bikes in a park near their hotel about 7.45am local time on Sunday.

One of the men was said to be carrying a pistol and while both were threatened, the bikes were the only property stolen during the incident.

“We were returning from a morning ride when the incident took place, said Tesch in the statement.

“We were close to our hotel when we were confronted by two men, one of whom was armed.

“I was threatened with the pistol and pushed to the ground. He took my bike, and the other perpetrator took Sarah’s bike. We are both shaken, but physically were both OK.”

Officials from the Australian Embassy in Brasilia have since been to the Australian team’s hotel to offer assistance, and have liaised with local authorities.

– TiVi Tuan-san