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Thursday, 27 October 2005 |
Olympic Games revamp called for
Olympics athletes have urged the International Olympic Committee to
raise the minimum number of sports needed to stage a Summer Games from
15 to 25. The Athens Games in 2004 featured the maximum of 28 sports.
Softball and baseball were removed from the 2012 schedule at an IOC
meeting in Singapore in July but no sport received the necessary votes
to be put in their place as substitutes.
Athletes are now fearing there is nothing to prevent the number of sports being brought down to the minimum of 15.
Former pole vault great Sergei Bubka, chairman of the IOC's athletes'
commission, said he had asked their Executive Board to raise the
minimum number allowed.
"Since Singapore there has been a lot of discussion about this," he said.
"We lost two sports in Singapore but you didn't see anyone get in. This
has created a lot of concern and worries from athletes."
Sports hoping to make Olympic debut performances, including rugby
sevens, golf, squash, karate and roller sports, were all unable to get
a two-thirds majority of Olympic members but Sergei Bubka wants a
change to the rule.
"We have to be realistic," he said. "Two-thirds was difficult to
achieve. A simple majority would give sports more of a chance."
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 27 October 2005 )
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