IOC Election Delayed; London's "Good Surprises"; Coe Says "Focus" Needed

"Procedural Issue" Delays Athlete Election

Candidates for the IOC Athletes' Commission will wait at least another day to learn their fate.

A total of 21 Olympians from either 2008 or 2012 are up for four spots left by outgoing members Hicham El Guerrouj, Rania Elwani, Jan Zelezny and chair Frank Fredericks.

The candidates, their friends and family as well as media from their home countries gathered in the Olympic Village on Thursday for a scheduled 2 p.m. press conference.

After about a half-hour traffic delay, election committee chair Anita DeFrantz arrived, announcing that a "procedural issue" will delay announcement of the results until at least Friday.

"Hopefully tomorrow," IOC communications director Mark Adams told reporters before sweeping out of the room with DeFrantz, Fredericks and incoming chair Claudia Bokel in tow.

"We have had to call a temporary delay to the announcement of the results in order to deal with a procedural matter," an IOC spokesperson told Around the Ringslater Thursday.

"We are not in a position to share further details at this stage, but we expect the results to be communicated in the next few days."

A meeting of the Athletes' Commission is scheduled for Sunday, not long after the IOC Session where the four election winners are due to be confirmed.

Coe Says "Focus" Needed for Final Days

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe says it’s too early to name the defining moment for the London Olympics and that focus is needed to get through the final days of the Games.

"With three days to go it’s really important to focus right through to the final moment," Coe told a small group of reporters in a briefing Thursday at the Main Press Center for the London Olympics.

Coe says he wants to wait until the end of the Games to name a defining moment for the past 17 days. He said the upcoming 5,000 meter race for Team GB’s Mo Farah and diver Tom Daley’s try for gold are among the highlights still ahead.

Coe vigorously defended the allocation of seats for accredited persons, such press, NOCs, federations and athletes, even if it means empty seats in venues.

"I’m not going to ashamed about leaving a chunk of seats for athletes, families and friends," Coe said, also mentioning the need to save seats for press and NOC leaders whose schedules are subject to continual change.

Coe promised the same level of service for the London Paralympics, which follow in just over two weeks, from Aug. 29 to Sept.9.

"We take that very seriously," he said. "I have spent as much time working on the delivery of the Paralympic Games as I have on the Olympics," said Coe.

London's "Very Good Surprises"

London 2012 Coordination Commission chairman Denis Oswald said the two biggest surprises for the IOC about the Games are the quality of the weather and the lack of traffic.

"We had very good surprises," Oswald said at Thursday's IOC/LOCOG briefing. "The weather was not as bad as we expected it to be, and actually we’ve been blessed.

He added: "We know transport is difficult in normal conditions, and of course when you have half a million more people moving in the city it could be difficult.

"Actually, it has been going very well. I don’t know if all the Londoners have gone on holiday, but we have not had the traffic jams we feared.

"We expected more difficulties."

America’s New Sweetheart

Gymnastics double gold medalist Gabby Douglas says she enjoys being America’s sweetheart.

"It made me feel so good that America loves me," she told reporters at the daily briefing.

She added that she feels her performance as the first African-American to win the individual all-round gold will bring more African-Americans into gymnastics.

"I’ve always wanted to inspire people. You think about the Olympics and this quote: ‘Inspire a generation’ well now I can check that off my bucket list."

She described her time in the "amazing" Olympic Village as a lot of fun.

"I think the beds are very comfortable and I love the sheeting, so that’s always nice," she said.

"The swimmers were like ‘when you’re done with competition you can come over and sit with us’ and we were in awe. It’s like we’re in high school, and the popular people invited us to sit with them!

"I haven’t got to meet Usain [Bolt] yet and we want to meet him so bad, I have a feeling we’re going to have a chance."

Written by Matthew Grayson, Ed Hula III and Ed Hula.

20 Years at #1: