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Olympics: Tokyo bid prepared for every twist and turn - Interview

Agence France-PresseMay 11, 2013 18:46
Robert Baden-Powell founder of the Scout Movement is not a name normally associated with bids to host the greatest sporting event in the world the Olympic Games but its motto 'Be Prepared' is one the Tokyo bid have adopted thanks to their chief executive Masato Mizuno. Mizuno, who in 2011 stepped down from his role as chief executive of the sportswear company of the same name his grandfather founded in 1906, told AFP in an exclusive interview in Paris his 10 years spent as a boy at various age levels of the Boy Scouts had taught him many things.

Olympics: Tokyo vows 'safe' Games after Boston blasts

April 16, 2013 05:00
Tokyo's Olympic bid chief vowed Tuesday to ensure safety if the city wins the 2020 Summer Games, as the sporting world reeled from twin blasts at the Boston Marathon. "First of all, Tokyo is one of the safest cities in the world," Masato Mizuno, chief executive officer of the city's Olympic bid committee, said. "We'll do our best to prevent any of those wrongdoings." He also played down the possibility of random bombings at the Olympics in which more than 200 countries take part.

Olympics: Australia target top five at Rio Games

April 12, 2013 03:30
Better use of resources rather than more government funding will help Australia return to the top five Olympic nations, Australia Olympic Committee president John Coates said on Friday. The AOC has set another top-five target for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics after Australia slipped to 10th in the medals table at last year's London Games. "This is not the time for national federations, or the AOC on their behalf, to be going cap in hand to the federal government," Coates wrote in the AOC's annual report, released Friday.

Olympics: Australia target top five at Rio Games

April 12, 2013 01:30
Better use of resources rather than more government funding will help Australia return to the top five Olympic nations, Australia Olympic Committee president John Coates said on Friday. The AOC has set a top-five target for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics after Australia slipped to 10th in the medals table at last year's London Games. "This is not the time for national federations, or the AOC on their behalf, to be going cap in hand to the federal government," Coates wrote in the AOC's annual report, released on Friday.

Olympics: Crisis 'should not affect Madrid 2020 bid'

March 21, 2013 14:02
The head of the International Olympic Committee's Evaluation Commission Craig Reedie said he is happy with the guarantees given by the Madrid 2020 bid team that the Spanish economy could support hosting the Olympics. The Spanish capital is making its third consecutive bid for the Games despite the ongoing financial crisis affecting the country and Reedie said the economy shouldn't be a burden to the Madrid bid.

Olympics-Wrestling joins European Games despite Olympic snub

March 12, 2013 12:45
By Karolos Grohmann MUNICH, March 12 (Reuters) - Wrestling officially became part of the inaugural 2015 European Games on Tuesday despite being axed from the 2020 Olympic Games last month by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The sport has launched a frantic effort to reclaim its Olympic spot after being part of every modern Olympics since 1896, apart from 1900.

Olympics: Istanbul bid boosted by historic agreement

March 5, 2013 14:01
Istanbul's bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games received a huge psychological boost on Tuesday as it was revealed that bitter historical foes Greece had pledged its full support to the Turkish city's candidacy. Antonis Samaras, the Prime Minister of Greece -- the birthplace of the ancient Games and host twice of the modern ones in Athens -- and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the agreement after meetings on Sunday and Monday.

Olympics-Russian wrestler returns Olympic gold in protest

February 26, 2013 13:46
MOSCOW, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Russia's Sagid Murtazaliev has become the second wrestler in the last few days to return his Olympic gold medal in protest against the sport's possible exclusion from the Games. "I must admit it was a tough decision," Murtazaliev, who won gold in freestyle wrestling at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was quoted as saying by the local outlet R-Sport on Tuesday.

Olympics-Japan launches petition site to lobby for wrestling

February 25, 2013 07:15
Feb 25 (Reuters) - The Japan Wrestling Federation (JWF) has launched an online petition site seeking 100,000 signatures to help the sport remain an Olympic discipline. The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) executive board made a surprise recommendation this month to drop the sport from the 2020 Games, leaving wrestling to fight with seven other disciplines for one vacant spot when the board meets in May.

Olympics: Bulgaria wrestler returns gold to protest fallout

February 20, 2013 13:01
Bulgarian wrestling legend and federation chief Valentin Yordanov said Wednesday he would return his Olympic gold medal to protest the sport's loss of a berth at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Yordanov, 53, who won the gold in his 52kg freestyle wrestling category at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, dubbed his decision "a sign of protest." He said: "With this act I show my solidarity with the millions of competitors and fans of our sport, who condemn IOC's executive board decision to vote wrestling off the programme of the 2020 Olympics," Yodanov said.
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