Friday, April 30, 2010

China accepts IOC's decision to take back Olympics medal

Beijing, Apr 30 (ANI): The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) has said it respects the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision of stripping its women's team of a bronze medal won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

The decision to strip the women's team of the medal was taken after one of its athletes, Dong Fangxiao, was found to be under age.

"The Chinese Olympic Committee has always been committed to safeguarding the fair-play principle in sports and has always ordered its athletes and officials to comply with all rules and regulations of the relevant international federations," said a COC statement.

"The COC has learnt a lesson and will endeavor to prevent a repeat of such incidents in future," the statement added.

Monday, April 5, 2010

FIFA dress code rules Iran's girls out of Olympics

FIFA dress code rules Iran's girls out of Olympics

ZURICH (AP) — Iran's girls football team has been kicked out of the Youth Olympic Games because FIFA rules prevent players wearing an Islamic head scarf.
Thailand was nominated on Monday to replace the barred Iranians, the Asian Football Confederation said on its Web site.

The Asian governing body said the hijab scarf -- worn to observe Islamic dress code -- was not allowed under FIFA rules relating to on-field equipment.

Iran was scheduled to compete in a six-nation tournament for girls at the games being held Aug. 12-25 in Singapore.

Around 3,600 athletes aged 14-18 will compete in 26 sports at the inaugural Youth Summer Games.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Debate over Olympic ticket spending continues

Debate over Olympic ticket spending continues

Vision Vancouver Coun. Heather Deal says she has no regrets about the city spending almost $170,000 on tickets for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

But COPE councillor Ellen Wordsworth, who paid for the Olympic ticket she used, says she thinks the money could have been used better. "Wait a minute, didn't we just cut $61 million from the budget -- and we're closing services and increasing fees?" said Woodsworth.

"About $170,000 can do a lot of things in the city," she said.

All the details about the spending and who got the tickets is in a report going to council Tuesday.

Also included is similar information on the additional $18,920 the city spent on tickets for the Paralympics.

Of the 1,555 Olympic tickets and 534 Paralympic tickets, only two went unallocated.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Steel from Mittal for London's Olympic monument

Steel from Mittal for London's Olympic monument

The mayor of London has unveiled the design of a 115-metre tall monument that will mark the 2012 London Olympics.

The structure, which will be built in the Olympic Park, has a strong India connection as it is designed by prize-winning artist of Indian-origin, Anish Kapoor, and is being funded by steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.
This spiraling structure that incorporates the five Olympic rings will be London's answer to the Eiffel Tower. It will be taller than New York's Statue of Liberty, offering panoramic views of London.
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, called the statue, "a legacy of the Olympics to London".