SPORTS

2004 Games ‘at full speed’

Preparations for the Athens 2004 Olympics are in full swing after the initial delays that worried the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Games broadcasting supremo Manolo Romero said yesterday. I think preparations are now at full speed, he told reporters attending an international meeting of broadcasters covering the Games. Romero said delays in preparing the Games had led to a hold-up in setting up Athens Olympics Broadcasting (AOB), the company to cover the Games. We also started a little late but we will catch up, I am not worried at all, he said. We all know why we (AOB) were late to start, said Romero, referring to a string of delays, resignations and in-fighting that plagued the Athens organizers and led to a stern IOC warning to speed up preparations or risk losing the Games. Romero has been involved in covering the Olympics since the 1968 Mexico City Games. He also recently came to an agreement with the IOC over covering the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. (Reuters) There has been much talk about the controversial behavior of local fans at these games and the noise they have generated from the stands – in events requiring silence – to put off foreigners competing against Tunisian athletes.

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