International Capsules: London Olympics committee mulls baby ticket policy
LONDON (AP) — Organizers of the 2012 London Olympics said Tuesday they would consider options for new mothers who want to bring their babies into venues, after some parents complained that they have to buy full price tickets for their infants.
The London Organizing Committee made the statement after complaints flooded the British parenting website Mumsnet, with pregnant women who bought tickets for themselves — but not for their unborn children — wondering what they could do with babies who were breast-feeding. They argued that a months-old child would not be taking up a seat of its own.
"Of course we understand that some new mums may want to take their babies to events they have tickets to, and we will look at what we can do when the remaining tickets go on sale in April," the committee said in a statement.
Organizers have said that every child — including newborns carried in a parent's arms — must have their own tickets, in part to keep track of the number of visitors so venue capacity is not exceeded. They said special programs exist to make some tickets more affordable to young people, but those discounts did not apply to all events.
London's ticket policy is similar to that of Vancouver, which hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics. Organizers in the Canadian city used discretion at the gate, however, categorizing parents who brought an infant without a ticket as a child care issue. In other words, parents who appeared with children less than a year old — babes in arms, so to speak — were not turned away.
Many of the mothers who posted on Mumsnet said they're now in a quandary because they had bought Olympic tickets before they became pregnant, or will have newborns by the time of the games.
One of the mothers, Katherine Baker, told The Associated Press that she was frustrated by the lack of clarity in the official policy regarding infants. Baker, 35, said that she and her husband are keen to attend the swimming heats, to which they were allocated tickets before she became pregnant.
She said she now doesn't know what to do because she will have to breast feed the baby during the event. She said she would not mind paying for a third ticket to let their newborn in — but it would be nearly impossible to obtain one for the family to all sit together.
"We'll have to apply for one more ticket and compete against thousands of people again," she said.
Another fuming woman wrote that while she and her husband were lucky enough to get tickets to an equestrian event in August, organizers had told her there are no children's tickets so she will have to pay 95 pounds ($147) for a three-month old in a sling.
The latest ticket gaffe is expected to boomerang unhappily on London organizers. Tickets issues of all kinds have dogged the London Olympics as demand for seats at events from July 27-Aug. 12 has far outstripped supply.
Edward Parkinson, United Kingdom director of the ticket resale site Viagogo, said he was somewhat surprised by the organizers' policy that even newborns need tickets.
He compared the Olympics to music festivals, where parents are given concessions for children. In some cases organizers allow children under a certain age to get in for free.
Italy Olympic leader urges 2020 Rome bid
MILAN (AP) — Italy's Olympic committee president has urged the government not to drop Rome's bid for the 2020 Games amid concerns over the country's financial crisis.
Premier Mario Monti, who heads a government tackling Italy's economic problems, has been noncommittal about guaranteeing funds for the Olympics.
Olympic committee chief Gianni Petrucci urged Monti to commit to the bid, calling it a "unique and one-time opportunity" to bring the games back to Rome for the first time since 1960.
In an interview with Corriere della Sera on Tuesday, Petrucci said postponing the candidacy until the 2024 Olympics would put Italy in a tough position against possible bids from South Africa, France and the United States.
Also bidding for 2020 are Madrid; Tokyo; Istanbul; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan.
India could face IOC sanctions over ethics probe
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — India's Olympic body faces possible IOC sanctions over its continuing links with the disgraced head of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Suresh Kalmadi was released on bail last week, after spending nine months in prison following his arrest over alleged corruption connected to the over-budget event in New Delhi. It's unclear whether Kalmadi has formally left the Indian Olympic Association after 15 years as president.
The International Olympic Committee is asking Indian officials to explain the "exact current situation of Mr. Kalmadi before the courts of justice." The IOC says its executive board will consider the case in March "based on the answers that the IOA provides."
The IOC reminded Indian officials to respect the IOC's ethics code.
Track & Field
Ethiopia clears Olympic champion Bekele, 34 others
BRUSSELS (AP) — The suspension of Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele and 34 others was lifted Tuesday, clearing the way for the Ethiopian great to run at the London Games.
Ethiopian Athletics Federation President Bisrat Gashawten Tirfe told The Associated Press by telephone that "we have agreed to discuss all the matters concerning their problems." The athletes were suspended last week for not reporting for an early pre-Olympic camp to improve performance and competition.
Bekele won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the Beijing Olympics and holds the world record in both events. He was suspended along with along with Tirunesh Dibaba, winner of the two long-distance women's titles in Beijing. The suspension would have prevented them from running at this year's Olympics.
Under the agreement though, the federation said all athletes would still have to report to camp in the future, despite calls from Bekele to be allowed to continue individual training.
Federation spokesman Fikru Tekele said the 35 athletes have agreed to "fully follow" the federations training, without any exceptions.
"Kenenisa is our hero and we have great respect for him, but the rules don't discriminate," Fikru said. "To ensure results in London we should be tight, control them and protect them from injuries."
Bekele's agent, Jos Hermens, said his client had been extremely angry about the suspension and even inquired about changing nationality. Hermens also said training camps on a hard Mondo track as proposed would worsen injuries instead of helping prevent them.
The crisis started last Thursday when the federation wrote in an email that it "has decided any international competition including Dubai Marathon is closed from January 20, 2012 until end of the (Olympic) event on August 2012" for the 35 athletes who did not attend the camp early this month.
The group also included Dibaba's husband, Sileshi Sihine, a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 10,000.
The federation had set up a training camp for all leading athletes early this month to improve preparation for London after an abysmal showing at the world championships in Daegu, South Korea, last August.
Kenya won seven gold medals at the worlds compared to only one for Ethiopia. Kenya was third in the overall medals tables with 17, while Ethiopia was ninth with only five.
Bekele has struggled for most of the past two years with injuries and dropped out of the 10,000 in Daegu.
The decision allows the suspended marathon runners to compete in the race Sunday in Dubai.
-- Raf Casert
Skiing
Austria's Marcel Hirscher wins night slalom
SCHLADMING, Austria (AP) — Marcel Hirscher captured a World Cup night slalom before home fans Tuesday, his sixth victory of the season that came amid a simmering dispute over his earlier win in Zagreb.
Hirscher led after the first run and finished in a combined time of 1 minute, 43.01 seconds to beat Stefano Gross of Italy by 0.22 seconds. It was his first victory in Austria.
"This is my most emotional win so far," said the 22-year-old Hirscher, who had never finished among the top three before in Austria.
Ted Ligety of the U.S. was sixth, 0.96 behind. He finished in the top 10 of a slalom for the first time since placing sixth in Zagreb more than a year ago.
"I am definitely happy with how I skied for most of it, especially the upper part," Ligety said after his first run. "I just got a little tired getting to the bottom. But Hirscher is beating everybody down there by a lot."
Austria's Mario Matt was 0.29 behind in third. Overall World Cup champion Ivica Kostelic of Croatia finished fourth, 0.30 behind Hirscher, and remained first in the slalom and overall standings. Hirscher is second in the overall standings.
Hirscher said he was happy he and Kostelic shook hands on the eve of the race to settle a dispute over the Austrian's victory this month in the Zagreb slalom after apparently straddling a gate.
Kostelic had been angry at an apparently illegitimate victory. The rule breach, which should have led to an automatic disqualification, was brought to light this past weekend. The results will not be corrected because the International Ski Federation accepts protests only within 15 minutes of a race ending.
"After we spoke to each other, the issue was over for me," Hirscher said. "I can focus again on what I like to do — ski racing."
The Austrian called it "the most difficult time of my career."
"I am a person who needs to talk and find a solution," Hirscher said. "For me, every problem needs to be solved as soon as possible."
Austrian ski officials feared the dispute could lead to trouble among Austrian and Croatian fans during a race watched by more than 4,000 spectators, including several thousand Croatians. Police told the Austria Press Agency no incidents had been reported.
Kostelic was booed during his opening run and said he "saw a few snowballs" thrown by spectators.
"But it did not put me off," said Kostelic, who was the seventh and final starter of the elite group. "My run was not great, I could have gone faster for sure. The course was not in perfect condition anymore, but my run wouldn't have been good anyway."
Hirscher had failed to finish both previous slaloms — in Wengen and Kitzbuehel. On Tuesday, the International Ski Federation said it fined Hirscher $1,077 both times as the Austrian skied on after clearly straddling a gate.
Gross earned his first career World Cup podium by placing third in a slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland, this month. He was seventh after the opening run and climbed to second after an attacking final leg.
"This is a beautiful moment for me," Gross said.
The men's World Cup resumes this weekend with speed races in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and will return to Schladming for the World Cup finals in March.
-- Eric Willemsen
Gymnastics
U.S. gymnastics champ joins roster for American Cup
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — U.S. gymnastics champ Danell Leyva won't have to wait for the London Olympics to see how he measures up against the rest of the world.
Leyva was added to the American Cup roster Tuesday. The March 3 meet at Madison Square Garden will feature six of the top nine gymnasts from last year's world championships, including two-time silver medalist Philipp Boy of Germany and Britain's Daniel Purvis, who was fourth at worlds. USA Gymnastics already had announced that John Orozco, who was fifth at worlds, would be competing at American Cup.
World champion Jordyn Wieber and Aly Raisman, fourth at worlds, lead the women's field, which also will include promising Romanian Larisa Iordache. The 15-year-old won six medals at last year's European Youth Olympic Festival, including the all-around title and golds on floor exercise and balance beam.
Leyva and Orozco were second and third in qualifying at the world championships in Tokyo last fall. Orozco rallied from a poor start to finish fifth, just .268 behind Purvis and about a half-point from the bronze medal. A scary fall on high bar left Leyva in last place in the all-around finals, but he came back two days later to win the parallel bars title. It was the first gold at worlds for a U.S. man in eight years and also gave the Americans multiple medals for the first time since 2003.
Ukraine's Mykola Kuksenkov, Germany's Marcel Nguyen and France's Cyril Tommasone, who were seventh, eighth and ninth at worlds, also are scheduled to compete. An eighth man will be named at a later date.
Rounding out the women's field are: Australia's Georgia Simpson; Lisa Hill and Nadine Jarosch of Germany; Britain's Rebecca Tunney; and Romania's Diana Chelaru.
The American Cup is the first of four all-around events in gymnastics' World Cup series. Past winners include Olympic champions Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton, Paul Hamm and Nastia Liukin.
