Brazil's expulsion from Olympic venues of spectators "carrying banners or shouting slogans" against interim President Michel Temer "stirred outcry on social media on Sunday but Games organizers threw their support behind the move." A video of four security forces agents in red berets and camouflage gear surrounding a man holding a "Temer Out" banner and "manhandling him from the stands of the archery event on Saturday prompted a barrage of criticism from Brazilians." Several people tweeted, "A gold medal for repression." The Brazilian agency that provides protection for major events (SESGE) said in a statement that its agents "were asked to intervene by spectators at the archery venue because the protester was shouting while competitors were taking aim." An IOC spokesperson noted that the Olympic Charter "prohibited the presence of political propaganda within venues, as well as any kind of religious or racial messages." Rio spokesperson Mario Andrada said, "Those who make political statements in the venues are requested not to. If they resist, they are kindly requested to leave. This is a venue for sports. They need to be focused on that" (REUTERS, 8/7).
COMING CLEAN: Victor Conte is "back in business." The man who was jailed a decade ago "for helping athletes be faster, higher, stronger by supplying them with illegal steroids" is now providing nutritional supplements to a "new generation of elite athletes," mostly from boxing and mixed martial arts. Conte said that his supplement firm, SNAC, is on track for $5M in sales this year. Based in San Carlos, California, "it is just a few miles from his now-defunct BALCO lab, infamous for cooking up the biggest sport drugs scandal" in the U.S. But unlike BALCO, he explains, "all the products on the warehouse shelves" of SNAC, or Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning, meet global anti-doping standards. Conte: "In my own mind it is a small form of restitution. I caused a lot of damage, I harmed a lot of people, I'm trying to help others not go through what happens when you go down that slippery slope" (REUTERS, 8/8).
ON THE DEFENSIVE: The Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) has moved to "defend the Olympic cycling course after a series of crashes in both the men's and women's road races in Rio de Janeiro." The most serious incident left Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten in hospital with three cracks in her spine and a concussion while Australian cyclist Richie Porte "suffered a broken scapula." The UCI said, "The Rio 2016 road race course was carefully designed and was extensively tested at the test event and in training. We do our utmost to design safe, challenging courses but unfortunately crashes do sometimes occur due to a combination of factors." Former Olympic Gold Medalist Chris Boardman suggested the course was "simply unsafe." He said, "I'm actually quite angry about it because I looked at the road furniture and thought, 'Nobody can crash here and get up.' This was way past technical, this was dangerous" (London GUARDIAN, 8/8).
GERFLOR SUPPLYING COURTS: Sports flooring designer and manufacturer Gerflor is involved in the manufacturing, delivery, installation and dismantling of flooring for six handball courts, seven volleyball courts and eight basketball courts being used at the Olympics. The courts will cover a total area of more than 500,000 square feet (Gerflor).
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| Source: GERFLOR |
MEA CULPA: Australia's host Olympic broadcaster on Monday apologized "unreservedly" for two "mistakes" which "left
Chinese-Australians angry" during its coverage of the opening ceremony. Those "hoping to catch a glimpse of Chinese athletes" walking into the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday "were left disappointed as the
Seven Network cut short the Chinese entrance to take a poorly-timed commercial break." Fans were also left "confused" when Seven's medal tally predictions "showed Chile's flag next to China's name in the projected table." The network described both incidents as mistakes, and ones which were "accidental" (
XINHUA, 8/8). China has received
an apology from the
Rio Olympics organizing committee "for using an incorrect national flag during medal ceremonies." The "bungle first came to light on the first day of the meet, when eagle-eyed internet users" noticed the stars on the Chinese flag being used for the women's 10m air rifle medal ceremony "were not correctly aligned." It "later emerged the same incorrect flag design was being used throughout the Games" (
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/8).
EDUCATED GUESS: The bullet which was shot into the media center at the Rio Olympic Games' equestrian arena "may have been fired by a gang member aiming at a police blimp, according to Brazilian officials." The gunshot "missed journalists by a few feet after tearing through the roof" of the media center while those inside were "enjoying a lunch break." Brazil Defense Minister Raul Jungmann said, "One hypothesis is that someone who felt they were being filmed and observed made the shot." Police in Rio de Janeiro "regularly use blimps and drones to monitor crowds, with many coming into use just prior to this summer’s Games" (London INDEPENDENT, 8/8).
