- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Days after his dire warning about slack preparations for the 2016 Rio Games, International Olympic Committee vice-president John Coates has moved to defuse tensions with Brazil organisers.
Coates now says Rio can deliver an “excellent” Olympics after contacting IOC executive director Gilbert Felli, a senior troubleshooter sent to the host city last week to help tackle delays.
Coates on Tuesday described Rio’s preparations for the Olympics as “the worst I have experienced”, saying the IOC had “become very concerned” because the Brazilians were behind “in many, many ways”.
But on Thursday, the Australian released a statement underlying his belief that the “Rio Organising Committee and the people of Brazil can indeed deliver excellent Games”.
“Time is of the essence but things are moving in the right direction,” Coates said in the statement.
“We are all buoyed by the positive response of the City Mayor Eduardo Paes and the Rio organisers.
“The mayor, Brazilian government and organising committee all have our full support and as I said (Tuesday) there is no plan B.
“We have to make this happen by working together over the next two years.”
Two years out from the Rio Games, construction of Olympic venues remains worrisome.
Work at the Olympic site in Rio’s Deodoro district was due to start last year, but was now expected to begin in September.
And a recent strike by workers at the Barra de Tijuca district in western Rio, which will host a slew of events, also caused delays.
Beyond construction issues, Rio must also work on cleansing sewage-contaminated water in Guanabara Bay, which is slated to host sailing and windsurfing vents.
A further embarrassment for Rio was the closure of the Engenhao stadium, built seven years ago and set to host athletics. It has structural problems with its roof and repairs were running behind schedule.
Coates said he was heartened by reports from Felli on progress and that Rio was addressing the specific concerns of the 17 international sports federations raised at a meeting in Turkey last month regarding venues.