The IOC has revealed that "it will not pay the bond that the former president of the Olympic Council of Ireland Pat Hickey is required to produce" as a condition of being allowed to leave Brazil. While the Olympic Council of Ireland had "ruled out paying" the R$1.5M ($443,200), the IOC had previously referred media queries to Hickey’s representatives. As a member of its exec board, the IOC had "covered the cost" of Hickey’s flights to the Rio games. The IOC's media relations team "confirmed its position to the Irish Examiner." It did not "elaborate as to whether or not it was contributing" to Hickey’s legal fees or other associated costs (IRISH EXAMINER, 11/19).
Ten more athletes, mostly weightlifters and wrestlers, "have been stripped of the medals they won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics after failing doping tests in re-testing of samples," the IOC said on Thursday. They were among a total of 16 athletes "named in the latest batch of disqualifications from the Games." A total of 98 samples "have come back as positive for banned substances in re-analysis from the 2008 and 2012 Games as the IOC has attempted to root out cheats" (REUTERS, 11/17).
Beijing "started to collect emblem designs for both 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games on Sunday." Designers from Beijing universities "were the first to submit their works, with many more designed expected both online and offline in the coming 10 days." Beijing "launched a worldwide campaign to seek designs for the emblems" (XINHUA, 11/20).
PyeongChang 2018 recently "received a donation" from int'l holding company GS Group for preparations for the Winter Games. The amount has yet to be announced (AROUND THE RINGS, 11/19).
