Brazil's anti-doping agency faces being declared "non-compliant" by the World Anti-Doping Agency after it was revealed that "it stopped carrying out drugs tests on the Olympics host nation's leading athletes in the month before the Games." Around 370 tests "should have been carried out and the samples stored for ten years," but due to a period of several weeks before WADA ordered Brazil to resume the tests, "only 93 were carried out on Brazil’s Olympics athletes." WADA had declared Brazil's actions "unacceptable" and "refused to accept its claims that the tests stopped due to change of leadership in the sports ministry and the agency." The case will be reported to WADA's compliance committee, "which could declare the Brazilian anti-doping agency non-compliant" (LONDON TIMES, 8/10).
STOP BOOING: Brazil Olympic football Manager Rogério Micale said that striker Neymar could "walk out on the country's football team if fans continue to blame him for the team's disastrous performances." The "sensitive" Barcelona player is "fed up with copping boos for Brazil's showing so far." Micale said, "If we analyze it coldly ... if we don't treat [our stars] with respect, before long they will not want to stay with us any more" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/10).
MONGOOSE ACTIVATION: Müller appointed Mongoose Sports & Entertainment to help activate its Team GB sponsorship for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Mongoose will deliver Müller's experiential sponsorship activity, which will be taking place at designated fanzone sites across the U.K., including London and Manchester from Aug. 13-21. The fanzones will also feature activity from Müller's official partners British Athletics, British Triathlon and British Taekwondo (Mongoose).
TINDER VILLAGE: Away from the Games, "some Olympians are looking for a different kind of match." Athletes "increasingly are using apps like Tinder as they look to have fun and escape the pressures of competition inside the Olympic Village." Tinder spokesperson Rosette Pambakian said that "usage has skyrocketed in Rio de Janeiro." She added that matches in the Olympic Village increased by 129% over the weekend, "and the company expects that trend to continue" (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 8/10).
OLYMPIC BRIEFS ...
A French Olympic team official said that tennis player Benoît Paire "was booted out of his country's Olympic Games squad on Tuesday for "flouting the rules." French tennis Technical Dir Arnaud di Pasquale said, "You cannot flout the rules and the jersey like this." Di Pasquale "refused to divulge the details of Paire's indiscretions but confirmed that the 27-year-old had been ordered to pack his bags" (AFP, 8/9).
High winds have "forced Wednesday's rowing regatta at Rio 2016 to be called off, the sport's second postponement of the Olympics." Following an initial decision to delay the morning session, "all races were called off." Organizers and team managers "met to discuss a revised schedule for Thursday" (BBC, 8/10).
Belgain judoka Dirk Van Tichelt won Bronze "in the 73-kg judo competition on Monday." Naturally, "he went off to Copacabana Beach that night to celebrate the achievement." And that is "where things went awry." Van Tichelt was reportedly "assaulted by a thief on the famous beach, and was struck in the face." He was taken to the hospital after the incident. The thief, who was reportedly Brazilian, "came away with a cellphone, but, crucially, not with a bronze medal" (YAHOO, 8/9).
Ukraine's Oleksandr Pyatnytsya was stripped of his London 2012 Olympics javelin Silver Medal on Tuesday after "he tested positive for banned substances in re-tests" conducted by the IOC. The IOC said that "the athlete had tested positive for banned steroid turinabol and been disqualified." The IOC said, "Oleksandr Pyatnytsya, 31, of Ukraine, competing in athletics, has been disqualified from the Olympic Games London 2012 and ordered to return the silver medal from the javelin throw event" (REUTERS, 8/9).
