After Sochi, IOC turns attention to delays in Rio
(AP) — With the Sochi Olympics behind them, IOC leaders are gathering in Turkey this week amid growing alarm over Brazil’s troubled preparations for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Six weeks after the close of the Winter Games in Russia, the International Olympic Committee executive board meets in the Mediterranean resort of Belek to review a wide range of issues — none more urgent than the chronic construction delays that are putting some of Rio’s venue plans at risk.
IOC President Thomas Bach convenes his policy-making board Wednesday for a two-day meeting during SportAccord, an annual global sports industry convention.
Also meeting in Belek is the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, whose leaders are deeply concerned about the construction holdups in Rio.
Bach has said repeatedly that Rio “doesn’t have a day to lose” to get ready for South America’s first Olympics, mindful of the continuing delays for this year’s World Cup in Brazil.
The IOC’s co-ordination commission left Rio last month warning that the games faced “challenging deadlines” and again urging organizers and government officials to get things moving.
Olympic officials said the situation bears similarities to the 2004 Athens Olympics, whose delays became so critical that then-IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch reprimanded organizers with a “yellow card.” The IOC has so far stopped short of issuing a similar warning for Rio, but the pressure is building.