Zika Will Not Derail Rio Olympics - IOC

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that it sees no need to cancel, delay or move the Rio Olympic Games because of the Zika virus threat.

However IOC medical director Richard Budgett said that it would continue to monitor the situation closely.

Dr Budgett was responding to a call by Canadian health Professor Amir Attaran for the Games to be postponed or moved.

Prof Attaran said that the influx of visitors to Brazil would result in the avoidable births of malformed babies.

“If the IOC and the World Health Organisation (WHO) do not have the generosity of heart to delay the games to prevent children being born and disabled their whole lives, then they’re among the cruelest institutions in the world,” Prof Attaran said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press news agency.

“What I’m asking for is a bit of delayed gratification so that babies aren’t born permanently disabled.”

Prof Attaran – a public health specialist – argues that Zika is far worse than the IOC is willing to admit.

In an article for the Harvard Public Review he says that Rio de Janeiro is more affected by Zika than anyone expected and that all it takes is one infected traveler to start a process that could ultimately result in a “full-blown global health disaster”.

He argues that if the Games go ahead, it would be especially unfair on countries like Nigeria, India and Indonesia, which do not have the same resources to fight Zika as Brazil.

But his point of view is hotly contested by Olympic and global health authorities including the WHO, who are adamant the 5-21 August Games will not be derailed by the virus.

The IOC – which adheres to the WHO’s advice – insisted there were no plans to relocate or postpone the games.

“The clear statements from WHO that there should be no restrictions on travel and trade means there is no justification for cancelling, delaying, postponing or moving the Rio Games,” Dr Budgett said.

“The IOC will continue to monitor the situation very closely and work with the WHO, and we’re confident as we’ve been advised by the experts that the situation will improve over the next three months.”

A separate IOC statement said that plans were in place to target mosquitoes and deal with their stagnant water breeding grounds..

The statement said it was important to remember the Olympic and Paralympics Games are taking place in the winter months of August and September, when mosquitoes should not be so abundant.

The Olympics are expected to attract about 500,000 visitors from abroad.

BBC

Zika Will Not Derail Rio Olympics - IOC

"Gideon Quartey Is A Liar" Bombers captain

Captain of the national amateur boxing team, the Black Bombers, Suleiman Tetteh has rubbished claims that, the team failed to qualify for 2016 Rio Olympic Games, due to their demand for per diems.

Mr. Gideon Quartey, the President of the Ghana Amateur Boxing Federations (GABF), was reported to have said that, the team failed to qualify for the competition during the qualifiers in Cameroon, because of the demand for per diem by the boxers.

Tetteh, described the claims as “total lie” saying “we never demanded for money because we knew when we qualify to the Olympic Games, we will be rewarded well, so why should we do that.

“If you see how the likes of Azumah, Musah Rahman and Abdul Rahman fought in Cameroon, you realise we wanted to qualify”, captain Sulemanu Tetteh told Starr FM in Accra

The Black Bombers have widely been criticized for their failure to secure a single berth to this year’s multi sports event in Brazil, after the sports ministry doled out $20,000 to aid their travel to Cameroon for the qualification.

Team Ghana was represented by eight male boxers with one female boxer, but none made it to the finals, making it the worse results for Ghana’s boxing history for the past 20 years.

"Gideon Quartey Is A Liar" Bombers captain

Amateur Boxing Federation Seek Payment - Clarification

President of the Ghana Amateur Boxing Federation Gideon Quartey has confirmed that they will seek clarification on monies they have been requested to pay by the National Sports Authority in an emergency meeting today.

He made the revelation after the Federation was requested by the NSA to pay an amount of GHC 1000 to enable them secure camping space at the Theodosia Okoh National Hockey Pitch.

The team currently shuttles between the Naval Base Gym and the D.G.

Hathiramani Hall of the Accra Stadium which is also used by the Table Tennis, Karate and badminton Associations as they seek to make the most of non residential camping ahead of their qualifier in Cameroon next month.

“I am yet to meet the authorities but the information we are picking up is that we are being asked to pay some money.

“We will meet them today to hear what they have to say but if we cant resolve the matter then we will have to find a place for them to stay,” he told Citi Sports on February 9.

The Black Bombers are expected to present 12 boxers in Cameroon next month as they seek to utilize their lifeline to qualify ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics in Brazil after missing the initial qualifiers in Doha last year.

 

Source: Citi FM

Amateur Boxing Federation Seek Payment - Clarification

Ghana projects record breaking 25 athletes for Rio 2016

Ghana’s Rio 2016 Chef de Mission has projected that the country will be represented by a record-breaking 25 athletes at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio, Brasil.

Chris Essilfie, Chef De Mission of Team Ghana at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games said in an interview that “We‘re still hoping to qualify more and if there are funds to do that we could qualify more athletes to the Games”.

He added that, “After meeting with the Federation’s heads and listening to what they have on paper, it is clear we are going to qualify at least 25 athletes to the Games.”

Essilfie was confirmed as Ghana’s Chef de Mission in August of last year having been appointed to the same role at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Ghana won two bronze medals at Glasgow 2014; Razak Abugiri in the men’s 60 kilogram judo competition and Abdul Omar in the men’s flyweight boxing tournament.

The country made its Olympic debut at Helsinki in 1952 and has won a total of four medals, a silver and three bronzes.

Its last medal came at Barcelona in 1992 when its men’s football team won bronze.

Ghana won two gold medals at last year’s African Games in Brazzaville through Wisdom Na Ajdrago and George Darko in the men’s doubles tennis, and its women’s football team, who beat Cameroon 1-0 in the final.

If Chris Essilfie’s prediction comes to fruition, it will comfortably break the West African nation’s record of nine athletes sent to both Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

Ghana projects record breaking 25 athletes for Rio 2016