The 2016 Rio Olympics haven’t been getting almost as much fanfare as previous years, probably due to the very bad conditions the city is in, but that should probably change in 2020, when the games take Tokyo. The suspension has been in place since last October, and Adams said no progress has been made since then. Rio organizing chief Carlos Nuzman said the International Olympic Committee had “no questions, no concerns” over the political crisis.
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Temer was named interim president after Brazil’s Senate voted overwhelmingly in favour of suspending Dilma Rousseff from office for 180 days and subjecting her to an impeachment trial on charges of budget irregularities.
A group of 150 doctors, scientists and professors recently published an open letter calling for the Games to be postponed or cancelled.
There was no “public health risk” from Zika, assured the lawyer and former volleyball player.
“At this rhythm we are totally confident we will have a sold-out games”, said the Organising Committee’s director of communications Mario Andrada.
Nuzman noted that various “legends and heroes of sport”, including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Neymar had been helping to show the world that Zika shouldn’t be a significant concern in Brazil’s winter months.
Not one case of Zika was recorded during 44 test events involving 7,000 athletes and 8,000 volunteers, Andrada said, adding that Rio organizers would ramp up a public campaign to convince athletes and visitors that the games will be safe.
In the meantime, the International Olympic Committee executive board authorized Kuwaiti athletes to compete in Rio if they qualify.
However, American cyclist Tejay van Garderen withdrew his name from consideration for the games amid concerns he may contract Zika and pass it along to his pregnant wife.
It is not clear whether the Olympic surfing competition will take place in the ocean or in an artificial surf pool.
An aerial view of the Rio 2016 Velodrome venue at the Olympic Park construction site in Rio de Janei …
Organizers say Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes gave assurances that the velodrome would be “up and running” by the end of the month. A training session on the track is scheduled for June 25-27.
A total of 67 percent – 4 million – of Olympic tickets have been sold, leaving 2 million more to sell in two months.
“This means we can focus our energy and resources on creating the best games experience for the athletes, while ensuring a viable sustainable legacy for future Angelenos – just like we did for the LA84 Games”, he said.
Vice President John Coates, left, and Yoshiro Mori, president of Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee of Olympic and Paralympic Games, chat each other after their joint press conference in Tokyo Feb. 5, 2015.
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But those controversies were overshadowed after French prosecutors launched an investigation into payments of $2 million by Tokyo Olympic organisers into a Singapore bank account, with the money said to have been given to the son of disgraced former athletics chief Lamine Diack as an alleged bribe.
