Rio-2016 News

[yoshi]

Uh-oh. FIFA time!

[paul]

Brazilian authorities released a statement saying: "Judge Keyla Blanc De Cnop, the Special Court of the Fan and Major Events, ordered the dispatch of search warrants and seizure of passports of American swimmers Ryan Lochte and James Feigen." "With this, they are prohibited from leaving the country."   

[paul]

Police said in a statement that Hickey, the 71-year-old head of the European Olympic Committees as well as the Irish national committee, was detained at a luxury Rio hotel.

According to Brazilian media, Hickey tried to escape during the operation.

The reports said he fell ill during his arrest and was taken to hospital.

The arrest -- with echoes of a police raid on a FIFA hotel in Zurich last year in which seven officials were held on corruption charges -- will come as a blow to the IOC which has made anti-corruption efforts a priority since a bribery scandal around the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

Six IOC members were expelled after the scandal.

An IOC spokeswoman said: "We are still in the process of establishing the facts" and made no further comment.

The Olympic Committee of Ireland would only say that it was "seeking total clarity on the situation before we comment further."

[FYI]

23 hours ago, paul said:

Wow Mario Andrada has the worlds worst job, Rio excuse-maker. He is very good at it.

Just like you're very good at being the Rio drama queen.

[FYI]

Okay, so what's exactly going on with Ryan Lochte & his swimming buddies? Just heard from a reporter in Rio that the Brazilian authorities are looking for them for more information about their "robbed at gunpoint" incident. But that the USOC has already told them that "they're back in the U.S. already".

[paul]

14 minutes ago, FYI said:

Just like you're very good at being the Rio drama queen.

...just living through this.

Edited August 17, 2016 by paul

[paul]

Some super excuses by Rio's top spinner Mario Andrada, you can't blame the guy his job is spin.....he's good at it:

(in the colors of the Brazilian flag)

"There are several reasons according to our own research about how the stadiums, especially the track and field stadium, doesn't look as full as it should look," Andrada said.

"Long sessions, no-shows, tickets sold and people don't show up. In some venues, people... leave, especially to get food. This is a matter that has been discussed from day one here," he said.

"It worries us but in a constructive manner," he said cryptically with the Games five days from finishing.

The straight-faced Andrada also admitted what was clear from the start of the Games, that volunteers had failed to turn up in large numbers.

"We did have some lower number in volunteers attending in some critical activity. We went very close to 50 percent attendance in some areas.

"We see the main gaps in long hours ...or volunteers having to say no to people... and not ready to cope with that. We have to worry about the second week."

With the Games at risk of leaving a legacy of missed opportunities instead of being remembered as the spectacular first South American Olympics they were supposed to be, Andrada tried to explain what had led to the shortcomings.

"Before the Games we were battling in a complex environment. Political and economic. Low ticket sales tell this tale.

"Communication could be better but that is not the reason to explain why stadiums are looking empty in some sessions," he said.

With five full days of action left few believe Rio organizers can turn these Games around.

"We understand that some athletes are disappointed. We understand that the media is worried," Andrada said.

"We are worried but we are working within the framework of a Games that are privately funded... despite the problems that we're having in stadiums not looking full we are going after this problem trying to solve it."

[FYI]

3 hours ago, FYI said:

Okay, so what's exactly going on with Ryan Lochte & his swimming buddies? Just heard from a reporter in Rio that the Brazilian authorities are looking for them for more information about their "robbed at gunpoint" incident. But that the USOC has already told them that "they're back in the U.S. already".

Looks like the whole thing could've been all made up! 

https://www.google.com/amp/insider.foxnews.com/amp/article/50885

https://www.google.com/amp/m.eonline.com/amp/news/788201/judge-orders-seizure-of-ryan-lochte-and-james-feigen-s-passports-amid-robbery-probe

I also find Ryan's comment of "we didn't tell the USOC right away about the incident because we were 'afraid' of getting in trouble" bizzarre to say the least.

Afraid to get in "trouble"?? Uh, hellooo! That's what the USOC is there for. To help protect you & guide you during precarious situations like these In a foreign country.

[GoNutz]

The Lochte thing is strange, good thing he's back home already. Passport confiscation sounds pretty draconian if all they want to do is question him, then again it could have been an actual police office that took his cash.

[zekekelso]

13 minutes ago, GoNutz said:

The Lochte thing is strange, good thing he's back home already. Passport confiscation sounds pretty draconian if all they want to do is question him, then again it could have been an actual police office that took his cash.

Or it could be the whole gun-to-his-head thing never happened. Something is weird in the story, and we'll probably never know what. The good news is everybody is safe.

[Dylanlip]

Not quite everyone safe just yet.

The plot thickens......

[LatinXTC]

6 hours ago, FYI said:

Looks like the whole thing could've been all made up! 

https://www.google.com/amp/insider.foxnews.com/amp/article/50885

https://www.google.com/amp/m.eonline.com/amp/news/788201/judge-orders-seizure-of-ryan-lochte-and-james-feigen-s-passports-amid-robbery-probe

I also find Ryan's comment of "we didn't tell the USOC right away about the incident because we were 'afraid' of getting in trouble" bizzarre to say the least.

Afraid to get in "trouble"?? Uh, hellooo! That's what the USOC is there for. To help protect you & guide you during precarious situations like these In a foreign country.

Actually athletes could get in trouble if their national olympic committees have set up rules on curfews and drinking. The Netherlands men's gymnast Yuri Van Gelder was disqualified after going out for drinks after the end of the men's qualifications. He qualified for the rings finals, which was to take place more than a week after qualifications.

So yea Lochte's worries about getting in trouble with the USOC might sound a bit odd but there's legitimacy in him being worried, even if he was completely done with competition.

[FAAN]

[Sir Rols]

25 minutes ago, FAAN said:

Yeah, The Guardian's reporting that too. It's getting murkier and murkier.

Guardian's also reporting a British athlete's been held up at gunpoint on a night out in the town.

[krow]

12 hours ago, paul said:

...just living through this.

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2016 by kraussie-kraussie-kraussie
edited to tell you that if i had a dressage horse, i would name him drunk in rio

[thorbr]

7 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

Yeah, The Guardian's reporting that too. It's getting murkier and murkier.

Guardian's also reporting a British athlete's been held up at gunpoint on a night out in the town.

Oh Paul, Brazilian hater, Sorry that after all it was a lie...

[JMarkSnow2012]

20 minutes ago, thorbr said:

Oh Paul, Brazilian hater, Sorry that after all it was a lie...

Careful- we aren't yet at all sure what the lie was.

On the Team GB incident, we have official confirmation that an "incident of theft" occurred, though no details.

[Dylanlip]

25 minutes ago, thorbr said:

Oh Paul, Brazilian hater, Sorry that after all it was a lie...

Except we still don't know much of anything other than what the USOC wants to confirm. It's a matter of believing who you wanna believe right now. If Lochte really was robbed by cops, would they (the cops) not then want to hide that? How are we sure if any Brazilian police statement or judges word is verifiable if there's a potential conflict of interest? The answer is we're not. It's pretty hard to convincingly prove that the swimmers are lying about being robbed, or even being held at gunpoint, because petty theft and street crime is still rampant. We have many other less notable athletes who have been robbed by now. What point is there to prove by trying to take their passports and branding them liars? Save face slightly?

 Plus, taking the 2 other swimmers off their home-bound plane for holding isn't exactly a good way to avoid an international incident.

[thorbr]

40 minutes ago, Dylanlip said:

Except we still don't know much of anything other than what the USOC wants to confirm. It's a matter of believing who you wanna believe right now. If Lochte really was robbed by cops, would they (the cops) not then want to hide that? How are we sure if any Brazilian police statement or judges word is verifiable if there's a potential conflict of interest? The answer is we're not. It's pretty hard to convincingly prove that the swimmers are lying about being robbed, or even being held at gunpoint, because petty theft and street crime is still rampant. We have many other less notable athletes who have been robbed by now. What point is there to prove by trying to take their passports and branding them liars? Save face slightly?

 Plus, taking the 2 other swimmers off their home-bound plane for holding isn't exactly a good way to avoid an international incident.

Oh yeah they present different versions for the same case and it is an international incident. Are you going to bomb us? Will it be atomic or not?

It was just revelead here in our local News that they have argued with security Men in a gas station because they have simply destroyer the bathroom and wanted to leave without paying. 

[FYI]

Sorry, but I'm not buying it anymore. Even if the story turns out to be true, & some of the NOC's have strict rules & regulations, & that's why they didn't report it "right away", what the hell then were they doing out in "crime-ridden" Rio, especially in the WEE HOURS of the morning for! One wouldn't walk the streets of Compton, the Bronx or Sunnyside at that hour, would they. Especially if they're not even from around there.

These same NOC's also had "safety precaution" seminars to WARN their athletes of the potential dangers if they strayed too far away from the Olympic Village. Did they think that their committees were just doing it for sh!ts & giggles?! These same precautions were also handed out during the Sochi 2014 Winter Games. Athletes were warned to stay INSIDE "the Ring of Steel".

I'm willing to bet now that they went out on the town, they got drunk, started to act silly & obnoxious (like a lot of drunk, party-going people usually do), & then ran "into trouble" that way. And then they made this whole charade up, in order to "save face" for themselves.

It's like the Dutch guy who got thrown out of the Games last week for drinking, & then went to court to try & overturn his country's NOC's decision. But the Dutch court wasn't buying any of his lame excuses. And like the Dutch NOC said - "it's very unfortunate for this decision. But it had to be done, because it was a violation of our values". He knew the risks, especially when he had done crap like that before. But still decided to take the chance & "party" anyway. Sounds like these guys need to take notes from Phelps on how to get their sh!t together, instead of trying to blame others for their poor decision making.

[krow]

oh victim blaming, nice.

[FYI]

I guess someone else likes to be a drunk, party-goer.

[Dylanlip]

Wow, Brazlian sources are saying Lochte lied? I'm flabbergasted. But really, again, the conflict of interest rears its ugly head from Rio officials.

Remember this story?

http://www.flograppling.com/article/44328-intimidation-and-irregularities-kidnapped-jiu-jitsu-athlete-update

The guy was robbed by police then was retaliated against by said police for reporting it to..... the police! Do you see what's wrong here? If Lochte was robbed at all by police (He was at least robbed, the security guy found no wallet on entry), what would motivate the police to incriminate or investigate themselves if they're the ones doing the acts? This may simply be retaliation.

Quote

Are you going to bomb us? Will it be atomic or not?

Oh please. That kind of nonsense just exposes yourself. Holding two American athletes essentially hostage [not even named by the judge in the passport thing] for a weak case of he said she said is malarky, but we don't jump right to bombing nations. Listen to yourself talk. I would assume the US will negotiate/bargain to get everyone home. And if they refuse to release the swimmers, well... the rescue will be quick and easy. 

[krow]

1 hour ago, FYI said:

I guess someone else likes to be a drunk, party-goer.

oh ffs.

it's ridiculous to blame someone for getting robbed. do you tell rape victims that they were really asking for it by wearing those clothes?

[zekekelso]

3 hours ago, Dylanlip said:

Except we still don't know much of anything other than what the USOC wants to confirm. It's a matter of believing who you wanna believe right now. If Lochte really was robbed by cops, would they (the cops) not then want to hide that? How are we sure if any Brazilian police statement or judges word is verifiable if there's a potential conflict of interest? The answer is we're not. It's pretty hard to convincingly prove that the swimmers are lying about being robbed, or even being held at gunpoint, because petty theft and street crime is still rampant. We have many other less notable athletes who have been robbed by now. What point is there to prove by trying to take their passports and branding them liars? Save face slightly?

 Plus, taking the 2 other swimmers off their home-bound plane for holding isn't exactly a good way to avoid an international incident.

This post? Not looking so good today. 

The good news is now we not only know what happened that night, but we know why the pool water kept turning green.