(ATR) Okay, the headline might be melodramatic. But the fact is true: for nearly two hours Friday, IOC members, staff and even hotel workers were all shooed from the building for a security sweep.
Dozens of Federal Police dressed in black swept through the 17 floors of the Windsor Maripendi Hotel late in the morning. Some carried concave mirrors on poles to look under things, others were armed with military rifles. Most of the troops, men and women, were unarmed. A dozen or so bomb-detecting canines completed the task force, posing for pictures as they waited for the signal to enter the seaside hotel.
The exercise was not a surprise for most. A letter circulated to guests three days ago along with follow up calls to guests’ rooms let everyone know they would have to evacuate the premises. One who was caught unaware was senior US IOC member Anita DeFrantz, who pulled up to the hotel from her airport arrival just minutes after the steel gates closed for the sweep.
IOC president Thomas Bach and others took a look at the convention center where the IOC Session will take place next week a few blocks away.
The hotel sweep came at a time when not so many IOC members are in Rio just yet. Those arrivals are expected through the weekend just ahead of the IOC Session that begins Monday evening August 1. Most of the members here this early are, like DeFrantz, members of the Executive Board, which meets Saturday and Sunday.
No reports of any untoward discoveries in the hotel as a result of the security sweep.
The most dangerous item in this hotel apparently did not raise any red flags. My laptop was in my room just as I left it.
Olympic Village Still in Need
IOC members and staff as well as counterparts at Rio 2016 are insisting that all will be ready in the Olympic Village as it heads towards peak capacity next weekend.
Things are apparently still not 100 percent. The delegation from Argentina has had to abandon two floors in the village, staying in hotels until they get the all clear to move in.
Village readiness and transportation concerns are expected to be major talking points when Rio organizers deliver their final report to the IOC EB this weekend.
Canoe Fills Four Boats After Russian Rejections
The International Canoe Federation kicks out five Russians from the Rio Olympics as a result of the McLaren Report. ICF secretary general Simon Toulson says the rejections mean boats from Austria, Germany, Sweden and Iran will be added.
Meteorological Observations
Clouds Saturday, sun returns Sunday. Lows in 17c range. Daytime highs low to mid 20s. Nice.
Written by Ed Hula.
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