Health keeps Pele away from opening ceremony

Pele did not attend Friday’s opening ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of poor health, denying Brazilians a chance to celebrate their greatest sports figure.

The 75-year-old soccer great said this week he had been invited to light the cauldron, though that was not confirmed by Rio organizers.

“I’m not physically able to attend the opening of the Olympics,” Pele said in a statement Friday.

Pele had hip surgery recently and often walks with a cane. His absence — in any role — will be a huge disappointment to fans and organizers. He is easily Brazil’s most recognizable athlete — or former athlete — though he stopped playing almost 40 years ago.

USOC defends USA Gymnastics

The United States Olympic Committee on Friday defended USA Gymnastics amid accusations they failed to report sexual abuse by predator coaches.

The Indianapolis Star newspaper claimed Thursday to have found multiple examples of USA Gymnastics failing to alert authorities on abuse cases, accusations the gymnastics body’s president, Steve Penny, vehemently denied.

And hours before the Rio Games were due to get under- way, USOC Senior Director of Safe Sport and Ethics Malia Arrington defended the gymnastics organization.

“Abuse is an unfortunate reality in our world, and it has been an unfortunate part of sport as well,” she said in a statement.

“For a number of years now, the USOC has been steadily enhancing our efforts in this area. Our efforts to protect people from abuse, especially child abuse, have increased dramatically.”

Penny denied claims that USA Gymnastics had turned a blind eye to abuse claims.

“We share the outrage that sexual assault victims and their families feel,” Penny said.

S. Korean archer sets record

There was nothing the least bit shaky about South Korean archer Kim Woojin’s world-record performance at the Olympics.

Kim set a recurve world record with a score of 700 Friday during the qualifying round of archery at the Rio Games.

A perfect score is 720, with archers shooting a total of 72 arrows.