YAHOO头版－－Opening ceremony outrage

风玲

谁知道这是怎么回事？开幕的时候澳大利亚队我看到好多人呢，原来还没全去？:o

Confusion over opening ceremony
AAP - August 11, 2008, 8:51 pm

Dozens of Australian Olympians may have missed out on attending last week's opening ceremony because of confusion over who was to pay for their flights and whether they were allowed to go.

The track and field, sailing and equestrian teams were all based outside Beijing during last Friday night's spectacular and watched the event on television.

However, 10 sailors flew to the Chinese capital from their event site at Qingdao, and 400m runner Sean Wroe left the athletics training camp in Hong Kong to take part.

Heptathlete Kylie Wheeler said she was keen to join the athletes' march at the ceremony, but the 41-strong athletics team, the majority of whom are first-time Olympians, were told by Athletics Australia they were not allowed to attend.

Three-time Olympian, shot putter Justin Anlezark, said he believed an athlete could only attend if they paid their own way.

However, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) confirmed it had paid for Wroe's flight to Beijing.

Athletics Australia boss Max Binnington denied deception and put it down to confusion with the track and field competition not getting underway until Friday and most athletes are arriving in Beijing this week.

"I think in many cases they become overwhelmed by information so it's not surprising that there can be some confusion around these things," he said.

An AOC spokesperson in Qingdao told AAP the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) had paid for the sailors' return flights.

But in Hong Kong Australian equestrian team manager Brett Mace said two riders had asked to go but were told the policy was the riders weren't allowed to go because it would have left their horses at the competition venue in Hong Kong for two days.

Asked about the policy, AOC president John Coates initially thought Wroe had paid his own way but had to be corrected by AOC media director Mike Tancred.

Coates then said it appeared Wroe had activated his AOC flights to Beijing and official accreditation early, and decided not to return to Hong Kong.

"It's news to me that that was an option for all of them," he told reporters.

Faced with this knowledge, Wheeler, competing at her second Olympics, said she would have preferred to be in Beijing.

Wroe had arrived at the training venue in Hong Kong a week earlier than the rest of the athletics team.

Wheeler said Wroe's attendance at the opening ceremony had not divided the track and field team, but it had certainly provoked discussion.

Coates said they encouraged athletes to march but also highlighted the ordeal and difficulties of a very long night and discouraged those who were competing the next day.

"In the case of track and field though, they determined to have this camp and come in now, and it was their call," he said.

"We don't interfere with that preparation period and those decisions.

"It's a matter for them to work out if they're happy to have exceptions or not."

The Olyroos soccer team has been in Shanghai, where it has been competing since the day before the Games opened.

[ 本帖最后由 风玲 于 2008-8-12 00:30 编辑 ]

degra

due to a “technical glitch”？

cityrocky

这些鸟人，一开始以空气差为借口摆高姿态，现在看到好东西了就什么都忘了，纯粹一个字“贱”～
And the title, Opening ceremony outrage, is confusion too.