In another worry for Olympic organizers, Rio metro employees threatened Thursday to go on strike on the eve of the Games if they do not get a almost 10 percent salary increase, raising the possibility of transport chaos for some 500,000 tourists expected to attend.
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The gene doping test is created to detect if cheats are injecting synthetic genes which cause the body to produce more of the naturally-occurring hormone EPO, which in turn boosts the body’s ability to carry more oxygen in its blood.
Paes presented the Australian team with the key to the city of Rio.
“Theoretically, the builder should have delivered everything ready but we all know what it’s like with building work; there is always something to be fixed”, spokesman Mario Andrada told reporters on Monday.
The Australians were staying at nearby hotels but have since moved around 50 athletes back to the village.
Three cyclists were rejected for being named in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s McLaren Report and three more were withdrawn by the Russian Olympic Committee because of previous doping sanctions, leaving a team of 11.
He added that the arrests in recent days were made possible by the new anti-terrorism law in Brazil, which came into force two months ago, a law that grants more powers to authorities to prevent acts of terrorism.
Chiller, however, feels Australian athletes should avoid getting distracted by the Russian doping situation when they are in Rio.
“Sixteen of the 17 Russian wrestlers entered to compete at the Olympic Games are cleared to be considered for acceptance by the International Olympic Committee/Court of Arbitration for Sport”, a statement from UWW’s special commission read. Stepanova, due to her failed doping test in 2013, is automatically disqualified under the new rules.
“We ran into such injustice when they took away the Olympic Games from us, but, as I said yesterday, it will only make us stronger”, Isinbayeva said, referring to the grand sendoff the Russia Olympic team – including many of its banned athletes – received at the Kremlin on Wednesday.
While some focus on the issues of the Village and the Russian doping scandal, two-time United States Olympian Megan Kalmoe points her attention elsewhere.
In response, fans of Stepanova have taken to Change.org to petition the International Olympic Committee to once again reverse its decision and allow the whistleblower to compete.
Had they implemented a full ban, Stepanov believes it would have brought about a cultural change in Russian sports where even clean athletes would realize “if they see something wrong, they have to fight it”.
“The intention to defend the athletes is there”, she told R-Sport.
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A riot during the Olympic torch relay on Thursday cast a shadow over the Rio Games starting in just over a week, marking a new low in a ritual that was meant to unite Brazil.
