Athlete Behavior Not Major Concern in Incheon

(ATR) A former chef de mission says that the athlete incidents of the 2014 Asian Games are unfortunate, but "never fully unexpected."

Michael Chambers, former president of the Canadian Olympic Committee and Team Canada chef de mission at the Atlanta Olympics, spoke to Around the Rings about the incidents and whether or not they showed a problem with the overall execution of the 2014 Asian Games.

"Well, it’s something we never want to have," Chambers told ATR.

"You have several thousand people put together to live together for 16 days in an athletes village, so it’s like a little town. Little towns have things happen of the nature that has happened over at the Asian Games."

Three major high-profile incidents of improper conduct provided controversies during the 2014 Asian Games.

Before the games began, an Iranian football official was dismissed from Incheon after suspicions of sexual harassment.

Olympic Council of Asia president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said that "different cultures and traditions" were the root cause of the verbal harassment, and that the reaction to the incident was "swift."

Japanese swimmer Naoya Tomita was expelled from the Games after security footage revealed he had stole a camera belonging to a reporter for a South Korean news agency.

Indian boxer Laishram Sarita Devi refused to accept her bronze medal in boxing after claiming that the judges favored South Korean Ji-na Park in a semifinal bout. After the Indian delegation apologized to OCA, Devi was allowed to keep her bronze medal.

Chambers said the number of incidents that plagued Incheon does give "any reason for concern" over the organization of the Games.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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