French Judo Federation: the arena is not ready two days before the start of competitions at the Olympic Games
The Champ-de -Mars Arena, which is to host judo competitions at the Summer Olympics, is not ready for the tournament two days before the start because of problems with the surface and a lot of dust, said the head of the French Judo Federation Stephane Nomi.
The judo competition is scheduled to start on the morning of Saturday, July 27. On Tuesday, Marius Wieser, head of the International Judo Federation (IJF), indicated that the arena was not ready to host the competition. This was confirmed by Nomi on Thursday, who said the competition venue had to be dismantled at the last minute because the floor on which the tatami were placed was unsuitable – the mats were bouncing heavily on it.
“The flooring boards are not enough, there is too much dust. Our judokas fight barefoot and in kimonos – we have to find a way to get less dust into the room by Saturday,” Nomi was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.
The head of the French Judo Federation also noted there are problems with the flow of athletes, who have to take ten minutes to get to the hall amid a busy schedule.
Nomi, who organizes one of the biggest Grand Slam tournaments in Bercy every year, complained that he was kept away from organizational matters until the last:
“They did without us from the very beginning, but 15 days before the start they called for help. The International Federation saw that the conditions did not meet the requirements of the Olympic Games,” he added.
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