Brazilian Olympic Committee 'Recovering' Its Image

(ATR) Today Paulo Wanderley celebrates one year at the head of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB).

He took office days after the arrest of its president, Carlos Nuzman, on accusations of an alleged purchase of votes for the Olympic candidacy of Rio de Janeiro.

Nuzman remains under house arrest as he awaits a judge's verdict on his case.

"Despite being legally distinct entities, with different missions, the COB and the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, it is undeniable that the accusations affected the image of Brazilian sports," recognizes Wanderley in an interview with Around the Rings.

The COB was provisionally suspended by the IOC for a short time. But the sanction was lifted in February after the IOC was convinced that the Brazilian Olympic entity was not involved in the accusations against Nuzman.

Wanderley assures that the image of the COB is "recovering" and insists on clarifying that the case investigated by the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro of alleged bribes has no relation to the organization he leads.

He said that "only one" of the officials of the national Olympic body was summoned to the trial. Wanderley added that the person was called only as a witness for the defense of former President Nuzman and not in his capacity as a COB employee.

"A New COB"

"Austerity, Meritocracy and Transparency are slogans in the COB under my management," says Wanderley to argue why one can speak of "a new COB".

The Olympic leader then gave a long list of decisions taken in the past 12 months, including the approval of new statutes, the reduction of contracts in Human Resources, a greater representation of the athletes in the Assembly of the COB, a more democratic process in the presidential elections, and the creation of the Board of Directors and the Board of Ethics,

The signing of the term of Conduct Adjustment (TAC) with the Ministry of Sports, the MET Program (Management, Ethics and Transparency) to assist the Brazilian Olympic Confederations in the transfer of funds, and the opening of a Audience Channel to receive complaints and claims directly from the public were also among the initiatives of the "Wanderley era".

In addition, an agreement was signed with the "UN Women" for the preparation of the Policy of Prevention and Confrontation of Harassment and Sexual Abuse, which will be implemented this year by the COB.

The COB President announced that a report will be issued "shortly"on the complaints that have been received.

"The Committee today is an entity totally open to the community, to the press, to the government and to the internal collaborators themselves," he tells ATR.

"Everyone knows what is happening, everything is in the digital portal: salaries, contracts ..."

Legacy of the Rio Olympics

Wanderley disagrees with those who are skeptical about the legacy of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

"Without a doubt we lost some opportunities ... but to carry out the first Olympic Games in South America brought sports development for the region ... I am sure," he says regarding the sports legacy.

He considered that Brazil's participation was "very good" with a record number of medals and gold medals. With 19 medals - seven gold, six silver and six bronze, Brazil also achieved an unprecedented 12th place in the medal table by country.

"The Rio 2016 Olympic Games were a success," he insists. "And in terms of urban mobility, many things were done for the Games, with great benefits for the population of Rio de Janeiro."

He clarified that the responsibility for the planning of the use of the physical legacy of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Rio 2016 is from the Ministry of Sports. "However, we know that the full use of the Olympic spaces is not an easy task for any country that organized the Games. The Olympic Park in London 2012 was closed for two years, for example "

Wanderley states that the sports authorities through the Governance Authority of the Olympic Legacy (GAOL) are using the venues correctly, mainly in the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca.

In his opinion, the main legacy of the Games was in the area of ​​human resources that allowed training various professionals in various areas to promote the sport and the Brazilian Olympic Movement.

Aspirations for Brazil at Tokyo 2020

With a view to Brazil's aspirations at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Wanderley says that "the challenge is to offer better conditions to athletes with less money."

The COB wants its delegation to achieve a result similar to that of Rio de Janeiro.

"The prospects are positive," he says to ATR. "The COB sports projects did not suffer significant shocks with the retraction of the sponsors and the financial crisis."

The COB has made several inspection visits to Tokyo and eight support bases have been defined for the Brazilian delegation. "Our goal is to make it possible for the athlete to only have the worry of resting, training and competing well."

A year before Tokyo will be the Pan American Games in Lima, where Olympic qualifications in 23 disciplines will be awarded. Wanderley declined to comment on Brazil's chances of taking second place in the medal table. The last time Brazil did that well at a Pan American Games was in Sao Paulo in 1963.

"Because of the nature of the competition, with many non-Olympic disciplines and with the entry of new modalities into next year's Games Program, it becomes even more complicated to try to anticipate a result," reflects Wanderley.

"The COB intends to bring a strong and complete delegation to Lima and reach the places for Tokyo 2020," he says.

The second round of the presidential elections in Brazil between the ultra-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro and the socialist Fernando Haddad is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Wanderley hopes that the new president who is elected will offer the necessary support to the sport and the High Performance project.

"Sport is one of the most powerful education and health promotion tools. A compass for thousands of young people looking for an opportunity for social inclusion through their own efforts. Therefore, it is very important that the Government continue to pay close attention to the needs of Brazilian sports, "says the president of the COB.

Reported by Miguel Hernandez.