OLYMPIC GAMES

August 15 - Fresh doubts have been raised over Rio de Janeiro's ability to be ready to host the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics following the resignation of Marcio Fortes, head of the Olympic Public Authority (APO).

The APO said Fortes told Brazil President Dilma Rousseff he was resigning after complaining to her his office had lost its influence.

The APO coordinates preparations for the Games between Brazil's Federal, State and Local Governments and under Fortes, a Government Minister in the Cabinet of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was responsible for coordinating a variety of tasks related to hosting the Games.

Brazil has committed $11.6 billion (£7.4 billion/€8.8 billion) toward infrastructure including security, telecommunications and energy projects.

It is also spending more than $13 billion (£8.5 billion/€10 billion) on next year's FIFA World Cup.

Brazil's Sports Ministry said in a statement that it "has always maintained good relations, appreciation and respect for Marcio Fortes."

A replacement will be chosen by the President's office, which confirmed Fortes's resignation.

The resignation will be high on the agenda when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission, chaired by Morocco's Nawal El Moutawakel, arrives for its next inspection of Rio's preparations at the end of this month.

The IOC has previously expressed concerns that planning and construction are moving slowly.

Earlier this month, Leo Gryner, chief operating officer of Rio 2016, admitted $700 million (£450 million/€500 million) in public money may be needed to cover a shortfall in the operating budget.

The operating budget - to run the Games - was listed at $2.8 billion (£1.8 billion/€2.1 billion) in the original bid document.

Gryner acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press, that the budget is likely to reach up to $4 billion (£2.5 billion/€3 billion).

The cost of the Olympics and the 2014 World Cup has already been the subject of public protests with from demonstrators upset at Brazil's poor schools and health care system.

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You would never guess from its lawns, palm-trees and pathways fringed with bright pink blooms, but the International Olympic Academy (IOA) has been living through difficult days.

Inaugurated in 1961 and located just a golf buggy ride from ancient Olympia, the IOA has made concrete modern Olympic founder Pierre de Coubertin's vision for an academic centre for the study of the Movement.

You would think that such a mission would make it sacrosanct.

Yet, as director Dionyssis Gangas explained to me during a tour of the premises, the European financial crisis that has hit Greece so hard might have brought the institution to its knees.

Until three years ago, according to Gangas, the finances of the academy worked as follows:

On the one hand, there was an operating budget of €1 million (£859,000/$1.3 million), drawn 50 per cent from the Greek state, 20 per cent from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and 30 per cent from "various activities"; on the other there was the cost of maintaining the premises, which he says was the responsibility of the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC).

These maintenance costs came to a further €1.2 million (£1 million/$1.6 million), but only, as Gangas gives me to understand, because of high personnel costs stemming from the HOC's status as a public interest entity.

At this point, with the Greek public sector severely strapped for cash, a deal was struck whereby the IOA itself took over responsibility for the bulk of maintenance, which it has been able to accomplish much more efficiently, while the HOC's contribution was cut to €300,000 (£258,000/$396,000).

Gangas puts today's budget at around €1.5 million (£1.3 million/$1.9 million), with the rest of it derived as follows: €100,000 (£86,000/$132,000) from the Greek state, €100-€150,000 (£86,000-£129,000/$132,000-198,000) from academic activities, €400,000 (£343,000/$527,000) from sponsorship, including contributions from the cultural centre of Azerbaijan and the Greek lottery, and €450,000 (£386,000/$593,000) from the IOC, which, he says, has agreed, in addition, to make good any deficit.

"If it weren't for [President] Jacques Rogge and his colleagues at the IOC, the academy would have been forced to close," Gangas reveals.

As part of the new way of doing things, the academy has been opened for the use of outside educational partners much more frequently than it used to be.

Yale, Harvard, Georgetown and St Andrews have all taken advantage of the opportunity to organise symposia or summer schools.

The understanding is that courses should have some Olympic content.

Since 2009, the academy has hosted a two-year master's degree programme on Olympic studies for 30 students a year.

Would-be students must apply through their National Olympic Committee by March of any given year, with the course starting in September.

The fee, which Gangas says includes accommodation and food, is set at €3,000 (£2,500/$3,900) for the two years.

For all his gratitude to the IOC, Gangas says that the IOA's future is "still a little uncertain because of the general economic crisis in Greece.

"This means we have no hope of the level of state support we had in the past for the foreseeable future.

"And it means we are dependent on attracting new corporate and individual sponsors to ensure our survival."

Looking out over the idyllic grounds towards the ancient stadium where the Olympics began in 776BC, it comes as a shock to realise that this unique place of learning might conceivably have had to close its doors.

Baron de Coubertin's heart, laid to rest, in accordance with his wishes, on one of Olympia's tranquil pathways, would surely have been broken.

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At the London 2012 Olympics, I was given the very special honour of taking the Olympic Oath on behalf of all the athletes that were competing in the Games.

As I held a corner of the Olympic Flag that special night, I declared: "In the name of all the competitors I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, committing ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams."

It was a magical moment to say those immortal words at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford in front of 80,000 spectators and a worldwide television audience of around 900 million.

Unfortunately in the London 2012 taekwondo competition, I didn't manage to repeat my Olympic medal-winning performance from Beijing 2008 but I will still never forget what an amazing and inspiring few weeks those Games were; not just for me and all the other athletes, but for the whole of the UK.

The really important thing now is that we continue to build a real legacy of sports participation from the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, particular for young people.

As one of Sport England's Sporting Champions, one of my roles now is to meet with young people to inspire them and motivate them and I will be looking to do exactly that later this month at the Sainsbury's School Games in Greater Manchester.

The event is something that I'm really looking forward to, not least because it will be taking place at the superb Sportcity in Manchester, which is the location where I spent a lot of time training in my bid to become one of the world's best athletes in my sports.

The Sainsbury's School Games is backed by crucial National Lottery funding from Sport England and designed to increase the opportunities for young people to take part in sport across the school year. It is also an event that allows them to give their best in the sporting arena, make new friends and have lots of fun. At the end of the day, that is what sport is all about.

The concept of the Sainsbury's School Games takes me back to that Olympic Oath I made at the start of London 2012.

Although there are still some out there who struggle to see the huge benefits of participating in sport; it is in my mind unquestionably a force for good.

When taking that Olympic Oath, my words highlighted the importance of abiding by the rules, of being committed, of not cheating and of competing in the true spirit of sportsmanship.

These underline the three Olympic values of friendship, respect and excellence.

These values are something that all young people should strive for both in sport and in life.

By doing so, they will keep Olympic Flame burning brightly and the inspirational legacy of London 2012 very much alive.

Sarah Stevenson is a British taekwondo athlete who won a bronze medal for Team GB at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. At the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, she was chosen to take the Olympic Oath on behalf of all the athletes competing. She is also one Sport England's Sporting Champions that will attend the Sainsbury's School Games.

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The U.S. Olympic Committee has tapped a veteran Los Angeles banker and a top officer with Stanford University to head a new foundation to support athletes.

Gordon Crawford, a former fund manager for the Capital Group Cos., is to become the chairman of the newly created U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation, while Jon Denney, a top fundraising executive with Stanford University, will become its president, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the foundation and the USOC's development efforts.

Scott Blackmun, chief executive of the USOC, said the foundation is seeking to raise $50 million annually from high-net-worth individuals to supplement revenues the organization collects from television rights and sponsorships.

The USOC raised about $17 million last year. But just $10 million came in major gifts, which still is about five-times as much as its major gifts program brought in as recently as 2009.

As more countries have emphasized winning medals, training Olympians has become a financial arms race.

But unlike most national Olympic organizations, the USOC doesn't receive direct government support.

"Our goal is to support every member of a national team, which is about 2,500 athletes," Mr. Blackmun said.

The USOC has cultivated 52 trustees who have committed $300,000 each over the next four years.

Mr. Crawford, who has an extensive collection of Olympic memorabilia, including a collection of Olympic torches from every Games and sets of medals going back to 1896, said the foundation will hand all of its money over to the USOC. Donors won't have a say in how the money is spent, though they likely would be able to attend the Games potentially as guests of the USOC.

"This is going to be an educational process in teaching people that if we want to be competitive and give our young people a chance then we're going to have to support that privately," Mr. Crawford said.

The USOC reported revenues of $338 million and expenses of $247 million for 2012. It now spends about $60 million annually directly subsidizing some 1,500 winter and summer athletes. The organization consistently produces the world's largest Olympic teams, in addition to running training centers and employing doctors, trainers and coaches.

A former All-American swimmer for Stanford, Mr. Denney participated in the Olympic swimming trials and has deep ties to the wealthy Silicon Valley region, which has proved fertile ground for USOC fundraising.

One potential concern is whether the USOC fundraising efforts will cannibalize the fundraising that the national sports federations already do.

Mr. Crawford insisted the USOC will be able to find new donors.

"If someone has a natural affinity to certain national governing body and sport we're going to encourage them to give to that sport directly," Mr. Crawford said. "The idea is to make the pie bigger. We're going to find new donors. It's untapped," he said.

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