(ATR) After being blocked days ago from coming to the U.S., 15 archers from Iran will be allowed to travel to Las Vegas for this weekend’s Indoor Archery World Cup in Las Vegas.
With visas ready to go months after making application, the team was caught by the travel ban to the U.S. last week, their paperwork no longer accepted. Iran is one of the seven countries which President Donald Trump last week put on a list that bans passport holders from those nations to enter the U.S. The other countries are Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen.
Around the Rings is told that a letter sent directly to President Trump by U.S. Olympic Committee President Larry Probst and secretary general Scott Blackmun appears to have made an impact in the case of the archers. In the letter sent soon after Trump issued his order, Probst and Blackmun urge that special consideration should be given to sportsmen and sportswomen for admittance to the U.S. for competitions and related activities. The USOC says the government responded quickly, saying that it would give sports-related visas the special consideration requested by Probst and Blackmun.
Of concern to them is the image of the U.S. among IOC members who will vote in September for the host of the 2024 Summer Games. Los Angeles is the U.S. bidder, along with Paris and Budapest. In the year ahead, some 15,000 athletes from 190 nations are expected to travel to the U.S. to compete in world championships and other high level sports events, according to an official at the USOC.
The USOC says it regards the government response to the case of the Iranian archers as proof the Trump administration will honor its commitment to issue visas as needed for sport.
In addition to the archery team, ATR is told that two Iranian volleyball coaches are seeking admittance to the U.S. for a coaching clinic in the coming weeks. Visas are expected to be granted.
The movement on the archery team follows visa approval from Iran for members of the U.S. wrestling team. The wrestlers are to compete in an important freestyle tournament next week. Soon after President Trump announced the seven-nation travel ban 10 days ago, Iran said it would block the U.S. wrestlers. But after an appeal to the Iranian government by international federation United World Wrestling and a U.S. court order blocking the Trump ban, Iran reversed course and said it will admit the wrestlers.
A U.S. appeals court hearing later today will decide whether the court order blocking the ban is legal. The ruling today will not rule on the merits of the order.
Homepage photo: Getty Images
Written by Ed Hula.
25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
Últimas Noticias
Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore
IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing
Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts
IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power
North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022
