Olympics live: Brisbane Games vote roasted

3 years ago 485

The mode successful which Brisbane was awarded the OIympics is nether fire, with a property merchandise announcing the determination issued earlier the authoritative ballot was adjacent held.

Brisbane was the sole morganatic campaigner by the extremity of the process for the 2032 Games, having go the IOC's preferred bidder. The authoritative announcement came astatine 6.30pm connected Wednesday (AEST).

Yet a leaked property merchandise from Tokyo Olympics organisers, much than an hr earlier the authoritative vote, revealed that Brisbane had already secured the Games; starring to accusations that the pomp and ceremonial was each for show.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was already nether occurrence for going to Tokyo, which she insisted was perfectly indispensable for the bid's success. She, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Brisbane Lord Major Adrian Schrinner and Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates gave a last presumption to IOC members astir an hr earlier the last vote, which finished 72 from 77 successful Brisbane's favour.

A New York Times newsman grilled IOC president Thomas Bach astir the process aft the leaked property released surfaced.

"Not to determination acold h2o connected the celebrations, but conscionable connected the process — Mr Bach, we were present yesterday and you said this was not a done deal, this 1 candidate," the newsman said.

"But 2 hours earlier the ballot we got an embargoed property merchandise from Tokyo 2020 congratulating Brisbane connected winning this bid … it conscionable gives the aerial that the IOC rank are benignant of a gilded brothers band. What is the constituent of these radical erstwhile it comes to a process similar this?"

Bach responded: "I'm unaware of this but you cannot blasted the IOC members determination for a property merchandise from the organising committee. I don't cognize what happened there, but it has thing to bash with mean procedure.

"You saw contiguous a last presumption by Brisbane and again the questions and a concealed vote. I deliberation this speaks for itself and it has thing to bash with the enactment (by Tokyo organisers)."

Palaszczuk was aboriginal asked by Australian reporters if she truly needed to beryllium successful Tokyo, portion galore Aussies are locked down and being told to enactment astatine home.

"I'll fto John (Coates) speech astir the delegation but tin I accidental we had state, national and assembly represented present and you saw our committedness to convincing the International Olympic Committee that we are acceptable to big the 2032 Olympics," she said.

Coates added: "The IOC president had nary thought astir it (the leaked property release), truthful that's that.

"If Richard (Federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck), Adrian and the Premier weren't there, and small Johnny Coates had to spell up determination connected his own, determination wouldn't person been 50 per cent of the votes.

"The IOC members privation to spot the existent radical who person done it. It was an existent necessity … she (Palaszczuk) had to beryllium here."

Palaszczuk was again grilled implicit evident "double standards" by a reporter, having near locked-down Brisbane for virus-rife Tokyo, wherever much than 1000 COVID-19 cases per time are being recorded.

"It's the determination betwixt the IOC and the Japanese authorities for the Olympics to spell ahead. I bash not marque that decision, that is their decision," she said.

"You're each present for the Olympics, we're present to get the 2032 Olympics for Brisbane, which we person done tonight, which is simply a large nighttime of solemnisation and that is thing we should beryllium focused on."

Schrinner insisted that it would person been ridiculous to "put $8 cardinal worthy of economical and societal benefits for Queensland down to a Skype call. I wouldn't enactment $17 cardinal worthy of benefits for Australia down to a Skype call."

Brisbane volition big the 3rd Olympics Games held successful Australia, pursuing Melbourne 1956 and Sydney 2000.

The process was vastly antithetic to those followed successful awarding the Sydney Games, which came down to a genuine determination that was famously announced by erstwhile IOC brag Juan Antonio Samaranch.

With lone large planetary cities traditionally staging the Olympics, Brisbane has besides positioned itself arsenic a caller benignant of task for the IOC.

"We privation to amusement the satellite that mid-sized cities and regions tin big the Games without fiscal distress oregon missed deadlines," Palaszczuk told voters.

Brisbane said it already has 84 per cent of stadiums and lawsuit venues successful spot to acceptable the IOC's modern request of avoiding excessive spending and imaginable white-elephant projects.

The Netherlands thrashed Zambia 10-3 to interruption the grounds for the astir goals scored by a azygous squad successful a women's Olympic shot match.

Wednesday's action-packed brushwood besides made it the highest scoring crippled successful women's Olympics shot since it made its debut astatine the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema stole the amusement scoring 4 times successful the Group F brushwood astatine the Miyagi Stadium successful Rifu, earlier being substituted successful the 2nd half.

Many of the Netherlands players ply their commercialized astatine the apical of women's shot and their prime and acquisition was conscionable excessively overmuch for Zambia.

However, contempt being connected the extremity of an emphatic defeat, Zambian players continued to enactment successful the effort and scored doubly successful the last 10 minutes.

Zambia did person crushed for solemnisation arsenic skipper Barbra Banda scored her country's archetypal ever women's extremity astatine an Olympics.

The 21-year-old striker went connected to people a memorable hat-trick, becoming the archetypal pistillate African subordinate to people 3 goals astatine a Games.

The Netherlands look Brazil adjacent connected Saturday, who got their run disconnected to a flying commencement earlier connected Wednesday with a broad 5-0 triumph implicit China.

It was a crippled that saw Brazilian shot legends Marta and Formiga make Olympic history, with Marta becoming the archetypal subordinate to people successful 5 consecutive Olympics and Formiga playing successful her seventh Games.

The referee's whistle blew, the British players glanced astatine 1 different and they dropped to their knees. Their Chilean counterparts responded successful kind, each taking a genu astatine the Sapporo Dome.

An hr later, it was the American and Swedish players successful Tokyo taking portion Wednesday successful united, unprecedented gestures against racism by teams astatine an Olympics.

On the archetypal time of enactment astatine the Tokyo Games, the shot players were the archetypal athletes to usage the Olympic level for a show of activism.

Long restricted by the International Olympic Committee, specified protests wrong constricted parameters are present permitted astatine the Games wrong the tract of play.

Unlike successful sports similar the NFL, wherever players instrumentality a genu during the nationalist anthem, successful shot it happens conscionable earlier kickoff.

"It's an accidental for america to proceed to usage our voices and usage our platforms to speech astir the things that impact each of america intimately successful antithetic ways," US skipper Megan Rapinoe said aft her team's daze 3-0 opening nonaccomplishment to Sweden astir utilizing the Olympics to code societal issues.

"We person radical from Team USA, from each implicit the country, from each backgrounds, and radical virtually from each implicit the satellite for each different squad truthful I evidently promote everyone to usage that level to the champion of their quality to bash the astir bully that they perchance tin successful the world, particularly arsenic each eyes are connected Tokyo these adjacent mates weeks."

The Americans had decided earlier this twelvemonth to halt kneeling during the anthem. It had started successful shot successful 2016 with Rapinoe being inspired to amusement solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, who decided to kneel alternatively than basal during the anthem portion playing for the San Francisco 49ers.

"We're connected the planetary stage," Rapinoe said, "with the world's media, and eyeballs and people's attention, each drawn to 1 spot with a postulation of unthinkable athletes from each implicit the world, who attraction a batch astir what they're doing present successful Tokyo successful presumption of their sport, and who attraction a batch astir a batch of different things."

The British players decided astatine a squad gathering earlier flying to Japan to execute the motion that has been featured implicit the past twelvemonth astatine nine matches successful the Women's Super League successful England.

"We felt powerfully arsenic a radical that we wanted to amusement enactment for those affected by favoritism and equality," Britain skipper Steph Houghton said aft the 2-0 triumph implicit Chile. "It was a arrogant infinitesimal due to the fact that the Chile players took the genu excessively to amusement however agreed we are arsenic sport."

The Chile squad was, however, caught unaware that their opponents were going to instrumentality a knee. Once they spotted the kneeling, Chile defender Daniela Pardo did the same, followed by her teammates.

"It was an contented of not being successful sync," Chile midfielder Karen Araya said. "We weren't capable to pass decently owed to the language. The infinitesimal we saw the English taking the genu close distant we decided to bash the aforesaid and of people we are successful favour of this benignant of thing."

Soccer antecedently shunned immoderate signifier of activism astatine matches. But FIFA relaxed its argumentation past twelvemonth aft players successful Europe decided to usage matches to protestation radical injustice sparked by the decease successful Minneapolis of George Floyd, a Black man, astatine the hands of a achromatic constabulary officer.

FIFA besides told referees to use communal consciousness and to let players to show T-shirts with messages against racism that antecedently were banned successful soccer, adjacent for matters of societal awareness.

The IOC allows gestures of activism — if permitted by that sport's governing assemblage — lone earlier oregon aft the authoritative commencement of events astatine the Olympics. The authoritative website of the Olympics made nary notation of players taking a genu connected Wednesday.

Podium protests are inactive off-limits, prohibiting a repetition of the raised black-gloved fists of American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos astatine the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

By Tim Reynolds -- Grant Hill was not looking for caller things to do.

He's connected the committee of trustees astatine Duke, his alma mater wherever helium played for Mike Krzyzewski. He's an investor, broadcaster, nationalist speaker, subordinate of the Basketball Hall of Fame, co-owner and vice president of the Atlanta Hawks, and a subordinate of the committee of directors astatine the NCAA.

He says nary to plentifulness of things. And past USA Basketball came calling.

That telephone led to Hill adding 1 much occupation to his portfolio. When the Tokyo Olympics end, helium volition regenerate Jerry Colangelo and go managing manager of USA Basketball's men's nationalist squad — a astir challenging task that he'll statesman with the Americans conscionable a fewer months distant from resuming qualifying for the 2023 Basketball World Cup and with an oculus already connected the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"Another accidental to correspond your country, to service your state successful this capacity, that was the crushed for me," Hill said. "I deliberation besides knowing however important, however important the Olympic acquisition was for maine backmost successful 1996 and wanting to assistance recreate for young men who are coming done the NBA and privation to beryllium a portion of this. It's astir a calling successful a batch of ways."

Hill volition not beryllium successful Tokyo for the Olympics, the archetypal 1 wherever the US volition play nether Gregg Popovich aft Krzyzewski's three-Olympics, three-gold-medals tally ended. Hill's lack is lone due to the fact that of logistical challenges; the rules don't let for unlimited unit with a team, adjacent successful non-pandemic times, truthful Hill's in-person engagement with the squad picked for the Tokyo Games was constricted to its grooming campy successful Las Vegas.

He spent clip whenever helium could with Colangelo, picking his encephalon connected immoderate came to mind, adjacent squeezing successful chats connected the squad seat conscionable a fewer minutes earlier accumulation games.

"I couldn't beryllium much thrilled to person him beryllium that person," Colangelo said. "When Coach K and I enactment things unneurotic backmost successful '05, '06, we talked astir gathering infrastructure that would transportation connected aft we're gone. And I judge that's truly what's transpired."

It's not similar Hill needed to spot what the Olympics are like. He has a golden medal, helping the US triumph 1 astatine the 1996 Atlanta Games.

His ngo now: Take the torch from Colangelo and triumph more, galore more.

"Grant has been astir america implicit the years and our grooming camps, due to the fact that of relationships with myself, with of people Coach K, his manager successful college," Colangelo said. "He's precise aware. There's been a batch of conversation. There'll beryllium plentifulness much conversation. And it's not rocket science. It truly isn't. It's each astir relationships, and he's precise bully astatine relationships truthful I consciousness precise assured successful passing this connected to Grant Hill."

Colangelo assumed the managing manager relation successful 2005, aft the Americans mislaid 3 games successful the 2004 Athens Olympics and finished with an highly disappointing bronze medal. His occupation since has been to oversee the enactment of players and coaches for the elder nationalist squad -- and helium has a accidental to extremity his tally with 4 Olympic golds successful 4 tries.

"No question, these are large shoes to fill," Hill said. "Jerry has been incredible. His vision, strategical thinking, his volition to marque this successful. He commands a country with his presence. I've seen others who've been legends successful the crippled conscionable person specified reverence for him, and rightfully so. I mean, I've sat with him and conscionable talked astir his career. I'm amazed astatine galore things I didn't cognize astir his assorted contributions to the crippled of basketball."

No substance whether the Americans triumph oregon suffer successful Tokyo, Hill volition person to determination quickly.

Qualifying for the World Cup volition resume successful November, astir surely with G League players. There volition beryllium coaching decisions to make, NBA players to commencement recruiting for the adjacent World Cup, a program to beryllium hatched connected whether to effort to person 1 halfway radical for some the 2023 tourney and the Paris Games.

He's eager. He believes he's ready, too.

"I had an unthinkable tally arsenic an athlete," Hill said. "And now, to inactive enactment and service this peculiar crippled successful a fig of roles, including this, it's accordant and it's aligned with what I consciousness astir the crippled of basketball. It's an unthinkable enactment opportunity, an unthinkable challenge, but it truly stems from a emotion of the crippled and wanting to proceed to enactment successful it and service it and marque it amended for those who travel aft us."

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