Rio 2016 officials have hit out at remarks by Tokyo’s Governor Shintaro Ishihara in the press regarding the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) election process in which Rio won its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Tokyo’s governor reportedly said there were “invisible dynamics” behind Rio’s win. He made the remarks at a news conference hours after returning home from Copenhagen. The governor said, “our presentation was far better than those of other countries but it did not earn us points. I realized again that there was a sort of invisible dynamics at play”.
He cited as examples alleged deals involving Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Ishihara said, “I have heard that the Brazilian president came and made quite daring promises to people from Africa”.
Rio 2016 issued a statement repudiating “the inappropriate statements” made by the governor that were also in opposition to rules laid out by the IOC.
Rio 2016 said it will send a formal notification to the IOC on Tuesday.
Meanwhile Madrid CEO Mercedes Coghen reportedly said, “Madrid had the best technical project” and Rio de Janeiro was selected “because it was somewhere new”.
