Olympic Briefs -- Eight Candidates Vie for KOC Leadership; Coe Joins 2018 Bid

Eight Candidates Seek to Lead Korean Olympic Committee

Voting takes place Thursday morning in Seoul to select a new president of the Korean Sports Council and Korean Olympic Committee.

Eight candidates are seeking the post, including Y.S. Park, the former president of the International Judo Federation who also held a seat on the IOC while leading the federation.

Park, the best known candidate outside Korea, also comes with notoriety that his opponents have tried to exploit. Park was convicted by a Korean court in 2006 for his involvement in a multi-million dollar slush maintained by his family business, the Doosan Group. He was sentenced to a suspended prison term and fined, which also led to the IOC suspending his membership. In 2007, Park received an amnesty from the Korean government and his IOC privileges were restored.

Currently the KSC/KOC is headed by Yun Taek Lee, who has been serving in a caretaker position for the past year following the resignation of Jung Kil Kim. Kim left for political reasons.

Korea's new president will step immediately into a difficult political situation involving competing Olympic bids from Korea. PyeongChang is ready to try a third time for the Winter Olympics with a 2018 bid that would launch later this year. Busan, the second-largest city in South Korea, wants to make a bid for the 2020 Summer Games. With Korea unlikely to win both, the KOC must decide where to place its support, a decision likely to be influenced by the highest levels of the national government.

UNEP: Olympics Improved Beijing Environment

The United Nations Environment Program said in a report that Beijing Organizers fulfilled their environmental pledges, improving the city’s environment.

The 138-page report "discusses the environmental measures taken by the organizers and assesses their effectiveness and lessons learnt, all of which will be useful for those planning future Olympic and other sporting events."

The report found "a lasting environmental legacy has been left in terms of new, energy efficient and eco-friendly buildings and venues. Some 90 percent of the city's wastewater is now treated as a result of a $17 billion investment. Some 200 factories have switched to new kinds of cleaner production.”

However, the report urged China to extend the environmental standards in Beijing to the entire country and said China ought to reduce its use of coal energy and improve water conservation.

Coe Joins 2018 Bid

Sebastian Coe has been named a non-executive board member of the England bid for the 2018 World Cup.

"I firmly believe that making Lord Coe a member of our executive board significantly enhances our chances of success," David Triesman, chairman of the Football Association and England 2018 Limited, told the Associated Press.

"His experiences in leading the successful London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic bid and generating a wealth of domestic and international support will be invaluable to us."

Keith Mills, deputy chair of London 2012, is also a non-executive member of England 2018.

Coe led London’s efforts to win the 2012 Olympics.

PETA Plans 2010 Protest

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced they will use the 2010 Vancouver Olympics as a venue to promote what it calls, "Canada's shame." The "shame" is PETA's allegations that Canada kills hundreds of thousands of baby seals a year.

PETA Europe announced they will hold a press conference Wednesday at noon PST (3 p.m. EST) at Canada House in London. There they will unveil "a relentless yearlong campaign leading up to and through the 2010 Games," about the killing of baby seals.

PETA Europe will focus attention on the massacre through protests and by sending action alerts to millions of supporters. International affiliates will use the campaign's logo - a parody of the Olympic logo showing a hunter as he clubs a baby seal next to a blood-dripping rendition of the five interlocking Olympic rings - on badges and billboards and at pre-Olympic events around the world.

"If Canada wants to clean up its world image for the Olympics, the first thing it should do is call off the universally condemned seal slaughter," says PETA Europe Managing Director Ingrid Newkirk.

Bookies Backing Chicago Bid

According to Irish odds-maker Paddy Power, Chicago is a safe bet to win the 2016 Olympics.

The odds, which came out on Wednesday, peg Chicago at 8/11 odds of winning the Games. It appears that the strong odds were given with the anticipation of President Barack Obama actively lobbying for the Chicago bid.

Tokyo is the second favorite with 3/1 odds, Rio has a 7/2 shot, and Madrid is the long shot candidate, with Paddy offering 8/1 odds for the Spanish bid.

The odds gibe with numbers given by other online gaming sites, which have ranked the cities in the same order as Paddy Power.

Interested persons in bidding with Paddy Power must place their bets by 10 p.m. GMT (5 p.m. EST), on Sept. 20.

...Briefs

...Jeff Ruffalo has been named as the executive advisor for international media for the 16th Asian Games. The Games will be held in Guangzhou, China Nov. 12-27, 2010. Ruffalo will help communications staff with managing their English language messages to more than 10,000 members of the media. More than 14,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions are expected to compete in 42 sports.

...Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson thinks she has a good chance to dominate the dance floor on this season's "Dancing with the Stars." Johnson tells International Gymnast Magazine that she and her partner, Mark Ballas, are "in it to win it." Ballas won the sixth season with Kristy Yamaguchi, the 1992 gold medalist in figure skating.

Written by Ed Hula III.