The International Olympic Committee (IOC) began its evaluation of Madrid’s 2016 bid on Tuesday, while Spanish organizers said claims it spied on a rival candidate stemmed from a “misunderstanding.”
Last Friday, Rio de Janeiro’s bid organizers stripped a British freelance journalist involved with Madrid’s Olympic campaign of his credentials during the tour of the Brazilian city after they learned he had been accredited through Spanish news agency Efe.
Rio’s bid committee said officials discovered Simon Walsh was falsely credentialed for Efe just moments before he was to be included in a small group of foreign journalists who met Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“It was a misunderstanding between our communications department and Efe and the journalist who went,” Madrid bid leader Mercedes Coghen said on Tuesday. “If we have to excuse ourselves in front of Rio and in front of [bid leader Carlos] Guzman, we will.”
The IOC evaluation commission visited Rio last week after touring Chicago and Tokyo.
The Madrid presentation began with young field hockey player Monica Figar Coghen — Mercedes Coghen’s 12-year-old daughter — reading a statement in English to the 13 members of the IOC panel regarding her hopes of Madrid securing the games.
Coghen saw no problem in allowing her daughter to be part of the presentation, saying it demonstrated the family spirit of the Games.
“Certainly Monica transmitted the most emotion to the committee this morning,” said Coghen, who won gold in field hockey at the 1992 Barcelona Games. “I’m happy that what I felt she was able to easily translate to them.”
Earlier, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said he believed Madrid had “reasonable hope” of landing the games.
Organizers said the IOC panel was particularly interested in the Olympic Village site and other venues.
The IOC and Madrid organizers also went through other major aspects of the Games, including transport, accommodation and the legacy that will be left behind.
Zapatero said Madrid’s bid was strong due to unity at all governmental levels, noting that 77 percent of the infrastructure was ready to use. He also cited the success of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
“We are supported by the success of the 1992 Barcelona Games, which showed the world that Spain knows how to do these things,” said Zapatero, who is expected to be in Copenhagen on Oct. 2 when the IOC selects the host city. “We have great capacity to show this to the world.”
Spain is a leading tennis and cycling nation and an early favorite for soccer’s 2010 World Cup after its European Championship triumph last summer broke a 44-year title drought and put it top of FIFA’s world rankings.
“Spain is living a golden age of sport. We are the best in many sports, especially in football,” said Zapatero, who is an avid Barcelona fan. “In many sports our athletes are shining as never before. And across the country there is a movement toward Olympic sports.”
It is the second time Madrid is bidding for the Olympics after losing out to London for the 2012 Games.
“We’re in better shape thanks to the experience of the past four years, no doubt,” deputy mayor Manuel Cobo said.
The IOC commission, chaired by Morocco’s Nawal el Moutawakel, was to tour venues yesterday and today before the visit ends tomorrow.
Fenerbahce on Thursday earned a rare 2-1 win in England, but were still knocked out of the UEFA Europa League by Nottingham Forest in the playoffs. Forest entered the second leg with a healthy 3-0 lead from the opener in Istanbul — where Vitor Pereira made an impact in his first game in charge — and that proved enough to advance to the round-of-16 with a 4-2 aggregate score. The result was a boost for Forest, struggling at 17th place in the Premier League, in their return to Europe after three decades. They next face Real Betis Balompie or Kerem Akturkoglu gave Fenerbahce
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
ROAD RASH: Marc Marquez retired after a crash, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that a Ducati bike failed to make the podium Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
RSS