IOC Waits on Rio Tweaks; Blatter Plans Palestine Task Force

IOC Holds Off on Rio 2016 Program Changes

The IOC Program Commission is not expected to meet again to discuss and recommend changes for the Rio 2016 Olympics until after a new IOC president is elected.

A meeting in Lausanne scheduled for Saturday was postponed by the IOC Executive Board, which met earlier in the week.

The EB had discussed the topic of possible modifications to disciplines, events, quotas and competition formats at Rio 2016 and restated that any request from international federations that would result in a higher number of athletes or increased number of medals, adding to the cost and complexity of the Games, would not be considered.

The IOC said it would study the "quota-neutral requests already made by IFs for either a swap of event or modifications of competition format" at a later stage.

With the election of Jacques Rogge’s replacement as IOC president set for Sept. 10, Around the Ringsunderstands that there will be no amendments to the Games program considered until after that date.

The new IOC chief will want to put his own stamp on the Rio 2016 program.

Blatter Plans Palestine Task Force

FIFA will organize a task force to facilitate player movement in and out of Palestine.

That’s the outcome from FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s tour of the Middle East this week.

After stopping by Palestine on Sunday, the Swiss visited Israel on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Culture and Sport Limor Livnat as well as Israel Football Association President Avi Luzon and Secretary General Ori Shilo.

Blatter also had a personal call with Israeli President Shimon Peres, according to FIFA.com.

"I explained to [Netanyahu] the content of the mandate I've been given by the FIFA Congress in May. In a nutshell: to ease the movements of teams, referees - but also football equipment - in and out of and within Palestine," the FIFA president said at a press conference in Jerusalem.

"I've asked for the Prime Minister's help and he said yes, but with truth and fair-play. He also asked me to help him so that football is not used as a political tool."

According to Blatter, a task force with the presidents of FIFA, UEFA, AFC and the Football Associations of Israel and Palestine will now meet in Zurich ahead of the next FIFA Ex-Co meeting in October.

"FIFA - and me personally - will continue to work on this dossier," he was quoted by FIFA.com.

"We will keep you informed about the next steps."

A Summer 2020 "Wishing Wall"

Young fans voice support for Istanbul 2020 in paintings on a "Wishing Wall".

The wall, provided by the Turkish telecommunications company Turkcell, stood near the finish line of the 25th Cross-Continental Bosphorus Swim on Sunday. The 6.5 km open water swimming competition begins in Asia and ends in Europe.

"Turkey has 20 million people under the age of 20," said Istanbul 2020 CEO Ali Kiremitcioglu.

"Sport in Turkey is becoming ever more popular and 2020 would be the perfect time for Turkey and the Olympic Movement to have an Olympic and Paralympic Games in Istanbul. It will accelerate our sports development and activate new audiences for the sports movement within Turkey and throughout the region."

According to Kiremitcioglu, the "Wishing Wall" represents a way for youngsters "to display their own flair and passionate support for Istanbul 2020".

The IOC will decide Sept. 7 whether Madrid, Istanbul or Tokyo will host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Mutko Suggests British Jealousy Prompts Doping Claims

Jealousy on the part of beaten Britons could be behind recent allegations that Russian athletics are rife with doping, the country’s sports minister Vitaly Mutko suggested Monday.

British newspaper the Mail on Sunday reported that Russian athletes were pressured to dope and that the head of the national drug test laboratory in Moscow had faced criminal charges related to the supply of banned substances.

With just over a month to go until Moscow hosts the world athletics championships, Mutko suggested the spark for the claims could have been an under-strength Russian team topping the medal table at March’s European championships.

"Our successes don’t sit well with many people and they can’t explain our success," he said when asked about the claims.

"Our team at the European championships, with a second-string roster, beat the main British team. Of course they can’t understand where these sorts of reserves come from."

Mutko’s comments echoed those of senior Russian athletics figures. Both the head coach of the national team, Valentin Maslakov, and the head of the athletics federation, Valentin Balakhnichev, have suggested some sort of conspiracy aimed at discrediting Russian competitors.

Five members of the Russian delegation at last year’s Olympics have tested positive for banned substances during or after the Games, including discus thrower Daria Pishchalnikova, who was stripped of her silver medal and banned for 10 years in April.

Published by exclusive arrangement with ATR’s Sochi 2014 media partner RIA-Novosti.

Written by Mark Bisson, Nicole Bennett and Matthew Grayson.

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