Rio Games Organizers Say Preparations On Course To Hit Completion Targets

The organizers of the 2016 Rio Games "have labelled criticism of their preparations by a senior IOC figure 'as ill-informed and wrong' and said they are now on course to meet their targets," according to the PA. Next week marks two years to go to the start of the Games, and Rio Games Communications Dir Mario Andrada said that "'huge progress' had been made in recent months." He admitted that "earlier criticisms from international federations had served as a wake-up call for the three different levels of government in Brazil," but that the remarks of Australian IOC VP John Coates "had gone too far." Andrada said, "Coates’s message was ill-informed and bluntly wrong. Yes he is on the coordination commission but he had information that was wrong" (PA, 7/28).