IOC Adds Women Athletes for Beijing Games
geneb
TURIN, Italy (AP) -- 02/06/2006
The number of women in the summer Olympics continues
to grow. The International Olympic Committee executive
board approved new quotas Sunday 02/05/2006 for the
2008 Beijing Games, bringing the organization closer to
reaching its goal of gender equity.
The board accepted fencing's request for 12 additional athletes;
eight more (four men, four women) in modern pentathlon; four more
(two men, two women) in taekwondo; 10 more (five men, five women)
in triathlon; and 20 more in cycling for two new BMX events.
Taking into account earlier increases in women's soccer, field
hockey and handball, there will be 128 more female athletes in
Beijing than in Athens.
In Greece, 42 percent of the 10,500 competitors were women.
"We are getting closer to the 50-50 ratio in Beijing,"
IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said.
LAUSANNE OUT: The Swiss city of Lausanne - home
of the IOC - withdrew Sunday as a candidate to host the
Olympic congress and IOC session in 2009, leaving seven
cities in the running.
At the 2009 meeting, the IOC will address the future of the
Olympic movement, hold a presidential election and select
the host city for the 2016 Summer Games.
Lausanne announced its late withdrawal in a letter to IOC
officials meeting in Turin on the eve of the Winter Olympics.
IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies provided no explanation
for the decision.
Still in the running to host the meetings are Busan, South Korea;
Copenhagen, Denmark; Athens, Greece; Cairo, Egypt; Singapore;
Taipei, Taiwan, and Riga, Latvia.
The winner will be selected in the next
few days by secret ballot at the IOC session.
TV TALK: Viewers in sub-Saharan Africa will get a chance
to watch the Winter Olympics on TV for the first time.
The IOC said Sunday it has reached agreement with Canal France
Internationale to provide coverage of the Turin Games to 40 countries
in the region, including a daily highlights package and features on
African athletes.
In a separate deal, Olympic broadcasts will be available in 18
countries and territories in the Middle East, including Iraq and
the Palestinian authority. In Asia, North Korea, Laos, Indonesia
and islands in the Pacific will also have access.
Overall, the Olympics will be broadcast to a record 200
countries, up from 160 in Salt Lake City four years ago.
GLOVES OFF: The IOC is keeping up pressure
on boxing to reform its judging system.
The IOC froze more than $1 million in payments to the International
Amateur Boxing Association after the 2004 Athens Games, citing
concerns over the judging and selection of judges.
Sports Director Kelly Fairweather said Sunday that discussions with
the federation are continuing, but that much more needs to be done.
"We've made some good steps forward but there is still
a lot of work to be taken in this area," he said.
If boxing fails to meet the IOC's conditions,
its place on the Olympic program could come under threat.
CC - The Associated Press (AP) 02.05.2006, 04:09 PM
ACC - http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/beijing/full_story_uk.asp?id=1638
ACCC - http://www.genesbmx.com/2008-bmx-olympics.html
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