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Libyan Olympic Committee Chief Apparently Free
Mohammad Moammar Kadaffi, the eldest son of embattled Libyan leader Moammar Kadaffiand president of the Libyan Olympic Committee, has apparently broken free of his house arrest.
On Monday, Kadaffi was reportedly under house arrest by rebels fighting to depose his father from office. However, media reports now indicate he fled the house arrest.
The development would seem to fit with other news out of Libya. Mohammad’s brother, Saif al-Islam, was said to be captured by rebels, but he freely led journalists on a tour of a compound still controlled by the government. It's unclear how he managed to escape, and a rebel spokesman was quoted as saying "this could be all lies."
Bob Condron Leaving USOC
The USOC's longtime director of media services is retiring after 28 years and 15 Olympic Games.
In a press release rife with humor, he announced Tuesday he will leave the NOC at year's end to "pursue other opportunities."
"Exactly," Condron said. "Like fly fishing high in the Rockies, shooting my age in golf, whatever hole that happens to be, and spending more time in a coffee shop on Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. eating an apple fritter."
Condron has directed the Games accreditation process for U.S. media for the past decade and has been involved in media planning for every Olympics since 1984 as well as seven Pan American Games, 11 U.S. Olympic Festivals and numerous Olympic trials, World University Games, world cups and international championships.
"Having known and worked with Bob since the last century, I know the USOC won't be the same without him around every day," USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said in a statement. "Bob's sense of humor, professionalism and willingness to make friends all around the world are traits that everyone in our organization should work to emulate. Bob embodies the true spirit of the Olympic Movement."
Condron also serves on the IOC Press Commission and is one of only two USOC staffers currently on an IOC commission.
In March, he will wed Lynnette Ryden, a five-time competitor in the Pikes Peak Ascent, an annual event in which runners essentially race up the famous mountain in Colorado.
Corruption Charges Unfair, Says African Football Chief
African football boss Issa Hayatou says he and FIFA executive committee colleague Jacques Anouma were unfairly targeted by corruption allegations following the World Cup host vote for 2022.
"Fourteen people voted for the Qatar bid and only the two Africans among the 14 are targeted," Hayatou said Monday at a news conference in his native Cameroon.
"People consider that the 12 others could vote for Qatar naturally [but] the Africans could not vote for them without being corrupt."
In early May, a whistle-blower from the Qatari bid provided supposed evidence to Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper that her team had paid $1.5 million bribes to Hayatou, also an IOC member, and Anouma of the Ivory Coast.
Those allegations prompted some to call for a World Cup re-vote and Britain’s lower house of parliament to investigate the claims against the pair of Africans.
Phaedra Almajid, once a press officer for the Gulf state's bid, then admitted last month that her false accusations were an act of revenge after she was axed from the Qatar 2022 campaign.
Hayatou was also among three FIFA executives accused during the BBC "Panorama" investigation aired just prior to the Dec. 2 host vote of accepting bribes as part of the $100 million ISL scandal.
"I have never been corrupted by anyone," he said Monday.
School Honors Golden Olympic History
The United States’ university with the greatest number of Olympians and gold medalists is honoring its heritage in the year leading up to the 2012 Olympics.
The University of Southern California kicked off its "Cardinal and Gold Medal Heritage" program over the weekend.
Leading up to the Games, USC will have Olympians at sporting events and will promote their success on campus and throughout Los Angeles.
Since 1904, a total of 393 Olympians studied at USC, and Trojans have won 258 medals. According to the school, if USC competed as a country, it would be tied for 18th in total medals won, its 22 gold medals would be tied for 12th, and at six different Olympics, USC's medal count would have placed in the top 10 of the medal tally.
"We are extremely proud of our unparalleled Olympic heritage and, with the 2012 Olympic Games on the horizon, we felt it was important to salute and acknowledge that tradition," USC athletic director Pat Haden said in a statement.
The Pac-12 athletic conference of which USC is a member is also promoting its Olympic history for the next 12 months. The conference includes Stanford University, another school known for constantly minting Olympians.
Sport Security Experts Meet
An international organization of sport security experts met to discuss the best ways to secure major sporting events.
Speaking in Rio de Janeiro at a gathering of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the head of the International Centre for Sport Security paid particular attention to Brazil, where the 2014 and 2016 Olympics will take place.
ICSS president Mohammed Hanzab said: "These are exciting times for Brazil, with the two biggest sporting events in the world being hosted here in the next five years. With such an undertaking will come many challenges, and indeed many opportunities."
He added: "We are now seeing more major sporting events, such as the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, hosted by emerging nations and first-time hosts, who have limited previous experience of planning for such events – a trend that reinforces the need for sharing of knowledge and best practice. Nowhere is this more true than in the field of safety and security."
Rio is infamous for its endemic poverty and violence, which has plagued the city for decades.
Media Watch
Philip Hersh of The Chicago Tribune outlines why Denver is the perfect U.S. city to bid for the Winter Olympics in 2022.
Also writing for the Tribune, Blair Kamin, the newspaper’s architecture critic, predicts what Chicago would look like in 2024 –the next Summer Olympics the United States could bid for.
Written by Ed Hula III.
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