England national swimming team head coach Jon Rudd, joining a "growing campaign" opposing the plan, said that plans to hold "late night swimming finals" at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics are "outrageous," according to Sam Holden of REUTERS. A final competition schedule has "yet to be officially approved" by the IOC, but it said on Friday that a proposal to hold "later medal races to fit mainly with American television had been accepted." The plans, which would see some finals start as late as 10pm local time to maximize audiences in the U.S., have "already drawn criticism from Australia Olympic Committee President John Coates," who said it would place an "unreasonable demand" on athletes. Rudd has now added his voice to the "Say No to Night Swimming" campaign that is "gathering pace among competitors and coaches across the world." Rudd: "It's outrageous. The best way to describe it is disrespectful to athletes, disrespectful to the event and what the Olympics means." This is not the first time the "timing of the swimming finals" at the Olympics has been criticized, with the Beijing 2008 Games "switching finals to the morning to coincide with prime-time viewing in the U.S. despite some complaints from athletes" (REUTERS, 12/8).