RIO DE JANEIRO — The Israeli and Lebanese Olympics teams became involved in a heated argument about access to a bus to the opening ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Both sides acknowledged Saturday that Israeli athletes were blocked from boarding a bus packed with the Lebanon team on Friday, but they are at odds over the reasons for the actions of the head of the Lebanese delegation.
Israel portrayed it as a hostile act, with sailing coach Udi Gal saying they were prevented from getting on the bus for political reasons at the athletes’ village.
“The driver opened the door and we started to get on but then the head of the Lebanese delegation physically blocked the entrance and wouldn’t let us on,” Gal, a former Olympic sailor, told Israel’s Channel 2 television. “We wanted to stand up for ourselves but you can’t cause trouble.”
Gal said in an email that he had not lodged an official complaint. The Olympic Committee of Israel said it was preparing a statement.
Lebanon chef de mission Salim Haj Nicola insisted that he had the right to prevent another team’s athletes from joining them on the transport reserved for them.
SWIMMING: Yulia Efimova will be competing at the Olympics after all.
In a bizarre turn to the Russian doping scandal, world swimming governing body FINA revealed that Efimova will indeed be taking part in the 100-meter breaststroke.
The reigning world champion was listed on the start sheet in the fifth of six heats for the preliminaries Sunday. She is also expected to swim in the 200 breaststroke and, presumably, the 4×100 medley relay.
Efimova, 24, has been a flashpoint in the scandal because she not only served a 16-month suspension for doping, she tested positive again this year for the now-banned substance meldonium.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Brittney Griner would love to be the second woman to dunk in the Olympics, though it’s not the piece of history she really hopes to get.
Her individual goal would be setting the shot block record.
The problem is that no one really knows what that shot block mark might be, since there is no official Olympic record book.
“Really? Well then I’ll just have to set it,” Griner said.
Two marks that are known, are the U.S. records. Candace Parker set the single game record with four in 2012. Lisa Leslie holds the mark for an entire Olympics with 14.
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