Bahrain, Yemen Update; ONOC and Rugby Partnership; Mexico's Meat

Status Quo Reigns at Bahrain, Yemen NOCs

Around the Rings is told it’s business as usual at the national Olympic committees of Bahrain and Yemen despite political unrest in the Arab states.

"There is no effect at the moment on the NOCs of Bahrain or Yemen," a spokesman for the Olympic Council of Asia told ATR.

"They are functioning as usual."

The Bahraini NOC is run by the Al-Khalifas, the tiny Gulf state’s ruling family as well as the target of recent Shi'te street protests calling for more political freedom and the introduction of a constitutional monarchy.

According to an Associated Press report, no Olympians are among the 150 athletes suspended from their local clubs during an ongoing crackdown on suspected dissenters led by the head of the Bahrain Football Federation, also an Al-Khalifa.

Yemen is likewise in a state of unrest as protesters call for the resignation of president Ali Abdullah Saleh. A twice-delayed London 2012 football qualifier against Singapore was relocated to the United Arab Emirates last month due to the political turmoil.

Efforts made Tuesday by ATR to reach the NOCs of Bahrain and Yemen by both phone and email were unsuccessful.

Yemeni athletes have participated in each Summer Olympics since 1984 but have yet to medal. Rashid Ramzi captured Bahrain’s first-ever medal in Beijing by winning the 1500m, a victory later voided by a doping violation.

Mexican Meat Guaranteed Risk-Free

Pan Am organizers insist the meat served at the upcoming Games in Guadalajara will carry no doping risk.

"We haven't had any cases of beef contaminated with clenbuterol," Mexican Olympic Committee president Felipe Munoz was quoted Friday by Reuters.

"All the food within our Olympic Committee is free from any type of poisoning which could affect an athlete," he added, "and this is true for the upcoming Pan-American Games too."

His guarantee follows recommendations made earlier this month by the German Anti-Doping Agency that athletes avoid meat in both China and Mexico due to a higher risk of contamination by the banned anabolic agent.

Clenbuterol is the drug for which Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador tested positive following his victory at last year’s Tour de France, a result he later blamed on tainted meat during his successful appeal to the Spanish cycling federation.

According to organizers, the food served at the Pan Am Village will be tested daily to ensure a similar doping saga doesn’t taint the year’s biggest multi-discipline event.

Come October, some 6,000 athletes from 42 countries will compete across 36 sports in the Mexican metropolis.

ONOC, Oceania Rugby Partnership

The Oceania National Olympic Committees signed an "historic" agreement with its rugby counterpart.

On Tuesday, ONOC announced it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions.

According to a statement, the deal will help member unions throughout Oceania integrate into the Olympic Movement before rugby sevens joins the Olympic Program in 2016.

"This landmark agreement is an exciting step in the development of the game that will deliver significant opportunities for Member Unions in Oceania as we count down to Rugby Sevens’ Olympic Games debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016," said International Rugby Board chairman Bernard Lapasset at the FORU meeting.

IOC Member and ONOC Vice President Barry Maister said "There is genuine excitement in the region that Rugby Sevens has been included on the Olympic Program for 2016 and 2020.

"It is important that this excitement is harnessed and that the Rugby Unions work in partnership with the National Olympic Committees in each country to not only prepare for Olympic qualification but to grow the sport more broadly."

NOCs throughout Oceania are hopeful that the sport could lead to medals for the region.

Outside of Australia and New Zealand, the only medalist from Oceania is Tongan boxer Paea Wolfgramm who won a silver at the Atlanta Olympics in boxing. Pacific Island countries are traditional powerhouses in rugby sevens.

Rwanda Out of Money

Rwanda may be short of Olympians next year, if the National Olympic Committee’s federations don’t receive more funding.

According to local media, the committee held its General Assembly on Saturday and some member federations told delegates that they could not afford to continue training athletes for the Games.

Funding was allegedly supposed to come from the sports ministry, which was to clear sports federations debt. However, the ministry appears to have not done so, leading to the penury faced by federations.

In 2008, four Olympians represented Rwanda in Beijing. Rwanda has never won a medal at its seven Olympics.

Written by Matthew Grayson and Ed Hula III.