Rivaldo Urges Tourists Not To Come To The Olympics

Brazilian World Cup winner Rivaldo has urged tourists to stay away from the Olympic Games in Rio this summer. The ex-Barcelona winger feels that the climate is too tense in the country, with impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff causing high tensions.

There are also a number of hygiene concerns for rowers and swimmers due to anxieties over the cleanliness of the water. “Things are getting uglier here every day,” Rivaldo wrote, “I advise everyone with plans to visit Brazil for the Olympics in Rio to stay in their country of origin.

“Your life will be in danger here,” he continued. “This is without even speaking about the state of public hospitals and all the Brazilian political mess. Only God can change the situation in our Brazil.”

The country is also in something of a health crisis with an outbreak of the zika virus- which has particularly awful consequences for pregnant women.

Rivaldo posted the comments on his Instagram account.

Rivaldo Urges Tourists Not To Come To The Olympics

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

Bikes To Be Scanned For "Mechanical Doping" At Tour De France And Olympics

Bikes will be tested at the Tour de France and Olympics to try to find hidden motors and stop ‘mechanical doping’, cycling’s governing body says.

The UCI says up to 12,000 bikes will be tested this year using a new scanning system introduced in January.

Belgium’s Femke van den Driessche was banned for six years last month in the first proven case of mechanical doping.

“If you use this method of cheating, we will catch you,” UCI president Brian Cookson said.

The UCI believes that its new system of magnetic resonance scanning, which detects motors, magnets and batteries, is more effective than using heat-seeking cameras.

UCI technical manager Mark Barfield says riders who switch bikes mid-race could be targeted.

Demonstrating its testing technology on Tuesday, the UCI says the one hidden motor found – in Van den Driessche’s bike at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Belgium in January – was at the first event where magnetic resonance scans were used.

Van den Driessche, the former European Under-23 champion, has denied suggestions she deliberately cheated, saying the bike was not hers.

UCI regulations, which were recently strengthened, state a rider is given a minimum suspension of six months and a fine of up to 200,000 Swiss francs (£141,000) for an offence of “technological fraud”, while coaches, mechanics and other officials could also be sanctioned.

BBC

Bikes To Be Scanned For "Mechanical Doping" At Tour De France And Olympics

First Six UK Athletes For Olympics Revealed

The first six members of the athletics squad that will represent Team GB at this summer’s Rio Olympics have been named by UK Athletics.

In the men’s marathon Derek Hawkins is included alongside younger brother Callum and Tsegai Tewelde, both of whom qualified at the London Marathon.

Alyson Dixon and Sonia Samuels also guaranteed their marathon spots in Sunday’s race in London.

Dominic King has also been selected for the 50km men’s race walk.

Callum Hawkins and Tewelde, who claimed asylum in Britain after competing for Eritrea at the 2008 World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, qualified as the first two Britons to cross the line in Sunday’s marathon.

Hawkins clocked a personal best time of two hours 10 minutes 52 seconds to finish eighth, while Tewelde was 12th in a time of 2:12:57 – both within the 2:14:00 qualifying time.

His brother Derek ran within the qualifying mark by clocking 2:12:57 to finish 14th and has now been awarded a discretionary place.

Dixon and Samuels, who finished 13th and 14th respectively, had already run the qualifying time of 2:37:00 in Berlin last September.

Sunderland runner Dixon tweeted: “Dreams do come true if you believe in yourself and work hard for it. I’M GOING TO THE OLYMPICS!!”

King competed for Great Britain in the 50km walk at London 2012.

The selection of the six athletes takes Team GB’s total for Rio 2016 to 53 across five sports, with 11 sailors, four slalom canoeists, six shooters and 26 swimmers having already been selected.

BBC

First Six UK Athletes For Olympics Revealed

Neymar Wants To Play At Olympics And Copa América Centenário

Even after the conversation between Dunga and Luis Enrique last week, there is still no official announcement on Neymar’s participation at the Olympic Games and Copa América Centenário.

Brazilian Football Federation will have another meeting with Barcelona, but Neymar hopes the parties reach an agreement, so that he can play in both tournaments.

He told Globo Esporte: “I want to play both. I’m 24, I have to take advantage of this gas [laughs]. In a few years I will no longer be able to do it all. I think today I have the gas, yes. I don’t know anything about the conversation that Dunga had with the coach. Let’s see what happens. I’ll talk to the coach here and to those responsible for it. I hope to play the two.”

Brazil FA wants Neymar in both competitions, but Barça are playing hardball and want to release the player only for one, so that he would have time to rest between the current and next seasons. Dunga has already indicated that, if given the choice, he prefers to see Neymar in the Olympics.

Source: Sambafoot

Neymar Wants To Play At Olympics And Copa América Centenário

Rio 2016: Brazil Ambassador Warns Pregnant Women against Zika Virus

The Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana Madam Irene Vida Gala has warned pregnant women against traveling to Rio for this year’s Olympic Games due to the Zika Virus.

Health expert have found out that the Zika Virus can be spread from a pregnant woman to her fetus and has been linked to a serious birth defect of the brain called microcephaly in babies.

With this outcome, pregnant women will be the highest to be affected in the multi sports event which is scheduled to start from August 5, 2016.

Speaking in an interview with Starr FM in Accra, Vida Gala said, “What I think we should also add is the fact that, the Zika is not proven to be dangerous for the majority of the population so the numbers who have died of the virus is not more than five. The problem is related to pregnancies and the Zika, because babies that are born with some kind of deformities”.

“The Zika has no symptoms and your immune system takes care of it and therefore we need to advertise and prevent pregnant women or women thinking of getting pregnant should not think of going to Brazil”, she added.

In a related development, team Ghana has only four athletes who have qualified for the event in Brazil so far.

Rio 2016: Brazil Ambassador Warns Pregnant Women against Zika Virus

Hearts Of Oak lands Agbesi Doetse

Accra Hearts Of Oak has reportedly secured the services of Agbeshi Dotse ahead of the new domestic season.

The former Great Olympics attacker has since been a long term target for the struggling Phobians in their quest to provide fire power upfront.

The media engulfed Oak family mutually parted ways with Gilbert Fiamanyo in the off season so as to create room for the arrival of a new forward.

Doetse led the line impressively for the relegated Wonder club with 8 strikes to his name. A reported 2 year deal has since inked by the speedy forward in a massive overhaul of the attacking department. The 20 times league Champions missed out on a number of the topnotch home based players but the arrival of the former Olympics forward look set to appease their aggrieved fan base.

Hearts of oak transcended their dreadful 2014/15 FCPPL into the off season as they continue to end their eight year donestic hoodoo.

The Phobians have also been credited with interests in New Edubiase Bernard Ofori despite concrete offer from Medeams SC for the Yen Ko Nkoa sensation.

Hearts Of Oak lands Agbesi Doetse