Olympic Notes: Officials Concerned About Safety Of Stadium Seating

Rio Games officials expressed "serious concern about the safety of the temporary seats at the Olympic Stadium," where the track and field program starts Friday. Over 14,000 extra seats "have been installed at the Engenhao venue ... to take the capacity up to 60,000 for the Olympics." But the big temporary structure "has not been fully stress-tested with a crowd" (London DAILY MAIL, 8/8).

Meanwhile, a panel was "torn off the Olympic Aquatic Stadium" by wind gusts yesterday, and souvenir shops at the Games "were closed" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/8). The World Rowing Federation is "adamant every race will take place in the Olympic regatta at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas" despite yesterday's program being "postponed due to windy conditions and a fault with the buoy system" (ESPN.com, 8/8).

Polo Ralph Lauren runs a pair of full-page ads in today's N.Y. Times featuring U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte and wrestler Jordan Burroughs wearing their Gold Medals from the '12 London Games (THE DAILY).