IOC confident Rio Games will be "landmark Games"

Record ID: 91471

  • Title: IOC confident Rio Games will be "landmark Games"
  • Date: 11th August 2016
  • Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (AUGUST 11, 2016) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE BEGINNING JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE, MARK ADAMS, SAYING: "I'm very confident that these will be looked back on as a landmark Games. I think you have to remember there are problems here, there are problems at every
  • Embargoed: 26th August 2016 17:25
  • Keywords: International Olympic Committee Brazil wrestling tickets security
  • Location: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
  • City: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: Olympics,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA0014UONRRB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:The International Olympic Committee on Thursday (August 11) defended its decision to hold the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, despite issues of security, doping and a low turnout of spectators.
    "I'm very confident that these will be looked back on as a landmark Games," the IOC's Director of Communications Mark Adams told journalists.
    "I think you have to remember there are problems here, there are problems at every Games and when you have 28 sports putting on their world championships all that the same time and you're having a global audience of something like three or four billion people, it is the most watched event in the world, then there are always difficulties. What's important is how those difficulties are dealt with and I think our Brazilian friends are coming up and dealing with those difficulties and if all that happens is that the administrations have problems dealing with stuff, well that's tough, that's our job. If we deliver a great Games and fantastic competitions then that's also our job and I think that's what we are doing," he said.
    Doping scandals have overshadowed the build-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics with Russia receiving blanket bans in athletics and weightlifting with several other athletes banned by their respective federations.
    More than 100 Russian athletes were excluded from the Rio Games after independent reports for the World Anti-Doping Agency revealed evidence of widespread state-sponsored cheating.
    There has also been controversy in the pool as Russia's Yulia Efimova claimed a silver medal despite having served two doping suspensions in the past. Efimova, bronze medallist in the event in London 2012, was initially excluded from the Rio Games but succeeded in a last-minute appeal last week to be allowed to compete.
    There have also been security fears after a bus carrying journalists was hit by gunfire on a highway between Olympic venues on Tuesday (August 9).
    The Brazilian Olympic Committee spokesperson, Mario Andrade stressed that people had to be aware and vigilant.
    "We have to be focussed, to be focussed is different to be concerned," he said. "We have to be focussed, we have to be vigilant and to push the security force to do their best job and to guarantee us that they have been doing the security of those involved and we are going to, security remains a first priority as we told you."
    Rio Olympics organisers have been struggling to fill up venues, with large chunks of seating left empty across many sports. In the first few days, spectators at morning sessions of less popular events were particularly sparse, even though organisers said 82 percent of all tickets have been sold.
    But organisers have been helped by the host nation, Team Brazil winning a gold medal in the judo which has increased enthusiasm in the country.
    "We reached these Games with a very significant economic crisis that affected unemployment greatly and the political, changes more than crisis that you followed. Also a fact, the mood of the Brazilian people related to the Games," he said. "Once they got confident that would be a great show, once they got confident that they could enjoy themselves, what we saw was a revolution in ticket sales.
    "We never thought our system could handle 100,000 tickets a day as we have been seeing since the Games started. Obviously I'm not running away from your observation, obviously things could have been done better. We learn from this and we will do better in the next big events, but there is no regret to the approach we have taken and there is no regret to the fact that the tickets are being sold late."
    Meanwhile, Namibian boxer, Jonas Junius is clear to compete in the Olympics having been arrested on Saturday (August 6) on suspicion of attempting to sexually assault a room maid in the Olympic village.
    Junius was released by police pending further investigation and has not been found guilty.
    "I understand he's been released pending further action but he is free to compete. He has not been found guilty of anything as yet so my understanding is that the legal system in the country takes presence but allows somebody to be innocent before proven guilty, Adams said.
    Junius, who is competing in the light welterweight division, allegedly grabbed the maid and tried to kiss her. He is also suspected of offering the victim money to sleep with him, police said in a statement.
    The maid reported the incident to the police.
    Last week another boxer, Morocco's Hassan Saada, was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting two room maids at the Olympics.
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