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Iraq Reinstated for Olympics
27 February 2004
AnaiRhoads.org
Veriana Media - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on
Friday that Iraq's suspension on participation has been lifted in time
for the XXVIII Olympiad games in Athens, Greece, allowing Iraqis
to compete under their nation's flag.
Iraq's national Olympic committee, formerly run by Hussein's deceased
son Odai, was disassembled after Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed under the
weight of the US/UK invasion nearly ten months ago. The deferment of the
Iraqi committee by IOC took place on 17 May 2003 and the reinstatement was approved by the executive board meeting in the Greek capital over the weekend.
The IOC, as well as Britain, Bulgaria, France,Japan, Korea, Romania, the
United States and Middle Easter countries have come forward to fund and
train individuals for the competition. Iraq's soccer team is hoping to qualify in time. In addition, over
ten athletes are preparing to compete in boxing, taekwondo, track and field,
weightlifting and wrestling between 13th and 19th August 2004. As many as
four Iraqi wrestlers will be fully funded to train at a United States Olympic
Committee facility which is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Iraq's new Olympic committee was elected on 20 January 2004 and is
currently headed by Ahmed al-Sammarai, a former General and athlete who
returned to Iraq in 2003 after twenty years in exile.
Greece was the birthplace of the ancient Olympics, with the first modern
Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896. In 2004, the Games will finally
return to their origin following a decided election at the 106th IOC Session in
Lausanne, Switzerland, on 5 September 1997. Athens was chosen from a total of
five finalists including Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Rome and Stockholm.
Facts About the Olympics
- 301 medal ceremonies will take place over a period of 16 days.
- 28 sports will be represented in 38 venues.
- 10,500 athletes and 5,500 team officials from 201 National Olympic
Committees (NOCs) will participate.
- 21,500 members of the media are expected to cover the Games (16,000
broadcasters, including AOB, and 5,500 photo/written press members).
- The Olympic Village will house 16,000 athletes and team officials
during the Olympic Games and 6,000 during the Paralympic Games.
- Some 45,000 security personnel will work at the Olympic Games:
25,000 from the police, 7,000 from the military, 3,000 coast guards,
1,500 fire-fighters, 3,500 private security contractors and 5,000
trained volunteers. Their training is already in progress.
During the 1960 Rome Olympics Abdul Wahid Aziz won Iraq's only medal, a
bronze for weightlifting. Having sent forty-six athletes to the Moscow
Games in 1980, and four in the Sydney Olympics, Iraqi's have not represented the
country since the last appearance in the Atlanta, Georgia Games in 1992.
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References:
http://www.olympic.org/
© Copyright 2003 Anai Rhoads. International law prohibits resale, re-post and reprint of any kind without the author's permission.
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