The Blog Conglomerate
Top News, Music, and Sports
Email Subscription
Comments
Posts

Posts Tagged ‘Vancouver’

Vancouver Olympic chief defends 2010 bid conduct

By STEPHEN WILSONupdated 6:41 a.m. ET Feb. 24, 2011

LONDON – the organizer of the Vancouver Olympics said his team was “entirely scrupulous and ethical” during the bidding for the 2010 Winter Games, insisting that a voting deal with Russia was within the rules.

The International Olympic Committee has asked John Furlong for more details on his claims in a new book that a deal with Moscow’s mayor may have been crucial in Vancouver’s victory.

“I have already spoken with the IOC this week to provide context to the book in this regard and to confirm our compliance with IOC ethics and bidding rules and will follow up with them in writing,” Furlong said in a statement.

The disclosure in Furlong’s memoirs of meetings with the Russians ahead of the 2010 votes raised the specter of possible violations of International Olympic Committee ethics and bidding rules.

“As I stated in the book, every decision we made during the bid — including who to talk to, where, when, and why — was taken with a view to fully respecting the IOC rules,” Furlong said in the statement.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams told the Associated Press on Wednesday that no investigation by the ethics commission had been opened “at the present time.”

“However, having now read the book, we have written to John Furlong to ask him if he can give us more specifics on the claims made,” Adams said.

IOC bidding rules state that “no promise of any kind of advantage may be made.”

Furlong’s book — “Patriot Hearts: Inside the Olympics That Changed a Country” — was released in Canada on Feb. 12, the first anniversary of the Vancouver Games.

“The Russians would be crucial to our bid,” Furlong wrote.

The book says Furlong and another bid official, Bob Storey, met with Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov in his office near Red Square ahead of the IOC vote in Prague, Czech Republic, in June 2003. Luzhkov was a leader of Moscow’s bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.

“Luzhkov said the country wanted our help with the planning of its bid,” Furlong wrote. “We talked about the deal we had earlier worked out with Russian officials.”

The book said the deal involved the Vancouver team arranging a special Olympic bidding workshop for the Russians in exchange for votes from Russia’s IOC members.

“There was certainly nothing illegal or unethical about it,” Furlong wrote. “When we shook hands I never doubted for a second Luzhkov would be good for his word.”

Vancouver beat Pyeongchang, South Korea, in the final round of the IOC vote, 56-53.

In 2005, Moscow lost in the first ballot of the voting for the 2012 Games, which were awarded to London.

In the statement, Furlong said the meeting with Luzhkov was “part of our efforts to ensure we had discussed and highlighted the merits of our 2010 Games bid with people who were non-IOC voting members and were nonetheless prominent in sport and political circles, knowing that this was fully legitimate activity under the IOC rules.”

“Whenever possible, we also agreed to assist cities that were bidding for future games,” he said. “Our bid team was entirely scrupulous and ethical in all of our meetings and undertakings in advance of the vote. At all times we were well aware of and compliant with IOC ethics and rules for bidding cities and would have never jeopardized our bid by acting otherwise.”

The IOC set up an ethics commission and adopted strict rules following the Salt Lake City bidding scandal in 1999. ten IOC members resigned or were expelled for receiving cash, lavish gifts and other improper inducements during the Utah city’s winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games.

Copyright 2011 the Associated Press. All rights reserved. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.advertisementAlso on NBCSports.com

Vancouver Olympic chief defends 2010 bid conduct


Related Websites

    Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by admin - February 27, 2011 at 5:00 am

    Categories: Top Sports News   Tags: , ,

    2010 Winter Olympics Snowboarding Preview – from Universal Sports …

    2010 Winter Olympics Snowboarding Preview – from Universal Sports

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

    This entry was posted on June 25, 2010, 10:50 am and is filed under Snowboarding. you can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. you can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

    2010 Winter Olympics Snowboarding Preview – from Universal Sports …


    Related Websites

    Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by - July 29, 2010 at 3:00 am

    Categories: Top Sports News   Tags: , , , ,

    Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks Round 2 ft Samuelsson & Sharp (NHL Playoffs Preview) Sports


    www.youtube.com Click here to watch more NHL gameplay! Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks Round 2 ft Samuelsson & Sharp (NHL Playoffs Preview) Sports Featuring NHL’s Western Conference ice masters Mikael Samuelsson & Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks vs. Patrick Kane & Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks Western Conference coverage, Round 2. I will be simming the West to see who will win the second round matchups according to NHL 10. Ill be breaking down both teams and telling you guys who I think will win the series. Leave your comments and tell me who is going to win and why they will win. DIRECTOR’S CHANNEL: www.youtube.com – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - Follow Machinima on Twitter! Machinima twitter.com Inside Gaming twitter.com Machinima Respawn twitter.com Machinima Entertainment, Technology, Culture twitter.com FOR MORE MACHINIMA, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE SPORTS GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com TAGS: yt:quality=high NHL 10 National Hockey League canada stanly cup all star goalie blades of steel ice power play nes puck skate finals playoffs EA Canada Sports Playstation PS3 Xbox 360 UPC 014633157093 014633156836 MPN 15790 014633157093 15683 Stanley Cup Vancouver Canucks Chicago Blackhawks Philadelphia Flyers Boston Bruins Pittsburgh Penguins Montreal Canadiens San Jose Sharks Detroit Red Wings danman5000 Trevdo Constant Justin Fassino Mikael Samuelsson Henrik …

    Related Websites

    25 comments - What do you think?  Posted by admin - May 9, 2010 at 9:54 pm

    Categories: Top Sports News   Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

    Olympic dream vs. Vancouver reality


    Media love-in with Winter Olympics challenged by city’s new journalist co-op. For more visit: www.therealnews.com. Produced by: Jesse Freeston

    Related Websites

    25 comments - What do you think?  Posted by admin - March 8, 2010 at 5:34 am

    Categories: Headlining News   Tags: , , ,

    Vancouver 2010 Olympic Mascots Miga Quatchi Sumi and Mukmuk


    Miga the Sea Bear : Miga is a snowboarding sea bear inspired by the legends of the Pacific Northwest First Nations tales of orca whales that transform into bears when they arrive on land. Part Spirit Bear, a rare white bear unique to BC, Miga’s outgoing spirit and high energy draw her to action and adventure. Quatchi the Sasquatch : Quatchi, a shy and gentle giant, is a sasquatch; a popular figure in local native legends of the Pacific West Coast. The sasquatch reminds us of the mystery and wonder that exists in the natural world. Although Quatchi loves all winter sports, he’s especially fond of hockey and dreams of becoming a world-famous goalie. Sumi the Thunderbird : Sumi is an animal spirit who wears the hat of the orca whale, flies with the wings of the mighty thunderbird and runs on the furry legs of the black bear. With a name that is derived from the Salish word sumesh meaning guardian spirit, Sumi is passionate about the environment and is a fan of all Paralympic sports. Mukmuk the Marmot : Mukmuk is a small and friendly Vancouver Island marmot who always supports and cheers loudly for his friends during games and races. Mukmuk, the mascot sidekick, is considered an honourary member of the team and enjoys surprising his friends by popping up on occasion to share in the spirit and fun of the Games. Mukmuk gets his name from the word muckamuck, Chinook jargon for food, because he loves to eat when he’s not playing with his mascot friends.

    25 comments - What do you think?  Posted by admin - March 4, 2010 at 6:59 am

    Categories: Top Sports News   Tags: , , , , , , ,

    Powered by Yahoo! Answers