Rio 2016 Organizers have "always claimed that they would not give freebies away for the sake of filling seats, but a day before the opening ceremony they have backtracked on that claim." The "lucky beneficiaries will be the schoolchildren of Rio -- though how lucky they will consider themselves when they discover they'll be watching golf, rugby sevens or hockey remains to be seen." Rio 2016 Communications Dir Mario Andrada explained the decision, saying that having hit their R$1B ($313M) sales target, "they can afford to give away some freebies." Andrada: "There will be 240,000 kids across different projects in different areas. We reached 100% of the projected revenue" (EUROSPORT, 8/4).
LARGEST EVER: In its largest-ever contingent, India is sending "a total of 119 sportspersons who have qualified for participation in Rio Olympics 2016." A total of 57 sportspersons "qualified for participation in Beijing Olympics 2008 and 81 sportspersons qualified for participation in London Olympics 2012." Minister Vijay Goel told Parliament on Wednesday that the Indian Olympic Association has been "informed that sponsors already committed are Reliance Jio and Edelweiss Financial Services as the Principal Sponsors, Amul, Tata Salt and Herbalife as Associate Sponsor, Li Ning and SBJ as apparel sponsors" (INDIAN TELEVISION, 8/3).
POKEMON GO: The Olympics and Pokemon Go have a lot in common: "both took a long time to arrive in Brazil, and people are worried whether infrastructure can support the huge amount of hype." Olympians are now "able to compete not just for gold, silver and bronze but also for Pokemon Go medals." The game has "continued its international roll-out, arriving for the first time in Latin America as it lands in Brazil this week." And the arrival is just in time for the Rio 2016 games, "arriving just after the sport started and a day ahead of the opening ceremony." Many Olympians had reportedly been "disappointed by the fact that they couldn’t play in Brazil, where they will be living in the next few weeks." People who downloaded the game in their home country "can still play it." That was how a Japanese gymnast was "able to rack up" a $5,000 bill while playing in Rio, despite the fact that it had not yet been released then (London INDEPENDENT, 8/4).
POSITIVE OUTLOOK: The Professional Squash Association issued "an upbeat assessment of its future despite the sport's latest Olympic snub." Squash "missed out on inclusion for the Tokyo 2020 Games on Wednesday" as the IOC voted to add five new sports to the program. It is the "latest in a series of knock-backs for the authorities and players of the racket sport, who have long campaigned for Olympic status." PSA CEO Alex Gough said, "To know that dream has been taken away from our players once again is disappointing for all involved, but not unexpected. Throughout the course of the last decade we have addressed all of the concerns the IOC have put forward and as a result the sport is in its strongest position ever" (PA, 8/4).
ZIKA HECKLERS: Veteran USA goalie Hope Solo was teased by fans chanting "Zika, Zika" at her as the U.S. women's football team defeated New Zealand in its Olympic debut on Wednesday. The crowd of nearly 10,000 fans at the 60,000-capacity Mineirao Stadium "jeered the goalkeeper with references to the virus that has scared many athletes ahead of the Rio Games." Solo upset some Brazilians before coming to the Olympics "by tweeting a photo of herself wearing a hat with mosquito netting." She also "posted a photo of dozens of packs of mosquito repellent that she was packing for her trip to Brazil" (AP, 8/4).
OLYMPIC BRIEFS ...
Every time Australian goalkeeper Lydia Williams launched a kick, the Brazilian crowd "chanted a homophobic slur." It was not a "personal attack on Williams." But "it was ugly." The Arena Corinthians crowd in São Paulo chanted "bicha," an offensive word in Brazilian Portuguese that means "faggot." Brazilian journalists believe "it was the first time the chant had been used at a women’s football game in the Olympic host country" (AAP, 8/5).
IOC President Thomas Bach "led a mourning ceremony" Wednesday for the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches slain at the 1972 Munich Olympics -- a tribute that a widow of one of the victims said brought “closure” for the families. Bach led a minute of silence during the inauguration of a “place of mourning” in the athletes village in Rio de Janeiro. He hugged Ankie Spitzer and Ilana Romano, the "widows of fencing coach Andre Spitzer and weightlifter Yossef Romano" (AP, 8/4).
The development arm of the Int'l Paralympic Committee, the Agitos Foundation, will support projects aimed at helping refugees and earthquake survivors into Para sport as part of its 2016 Grant Support Program. A total of 21 National Paralympic Committees, two Int'l Organizations of Sports for the Disabled, one Regional Organization and nine Int'l Federations will receive a share of €650,000 ($723,000) which has been made available to IPC members. The most compelling projects include a proposal by the Greek National Paralympic Committee to work with Serbia and Cyprus in helping some of the thousands of people who have sought refuge in those countries, to discover Para sport (IPC).
There "will be no weightlifters representing Russia in the 2016 Rio Olympics." The Court of Arbitration for Sport "rejected the country's appeal on Wednesday, upholding the ban put in place" by the Int'l Weightlifting Federation (NBC, 8/3).
