International Games News

August 1999

Soccer Riots marred the closing week of the 9th Pan-Arab Games in Amman, Jordan. On Wednesday the 25th of August, Libyan players attacked the Palestinian team after the game in the locker room, and fans rioted in stadium, ransacking vendors stands, and in the streets outside the stadium, smashing car windows. The Jordan-Iraq match also saw violence on the field. On Sunday, at the conclusion of the semifinal soccer match against Iraq with the Libyan team down 3-1, Libyan fans began rioting, shooting fireworks onto the field, and ripping the brand-new plastic seats out of the new King Abdullah stadium and hurling them on the field. Over fifty people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The Arab Games Organizing Committee called an emergency meeting to discuss the issue.

The soccer field was not the only venue where sportsmanship was lacking. During the men's basketball match between Jordan and Syria, the Jordanian fans, upset that Jordan was behind, began to hurl water bottles onto the court. Jordan's Princess Haya, in a highly publicized event, grabbed a microphone from the scorers table and spoke to the crowd, restoring order.

At least five bodybuilders were suspended and lost medals for various drug offenses at the games.

Four Egyptian squash athletes were injured in a car accident outside Amman, while touring on their day off. King Abdullah and Queen Rania visited the athletes in the hospital, who were all in stable condition with Nesreene Nasha't the most seriously injured with a broken leg and fractured jaw.

The Pan-Arab Games had an additional title the Al Hussein tournament, in memory of Jordan's late King Hussein, who died earlier this year. Before the games Jordan's King Abdullah disguised himself as a taxi driver and went about town in Amman asking unsuspecting citizens how they felt about changes in Jordan. We're wondering if the topic of the Pan-Arab games came up? The King was greeted enthusiastically at the games opening ceremonies, and also showed up dressed in a Jordanian football jersey, (number 99) to cheer for the home teams first victory in the tournament, 3-0 over Qatar.

The Pan-Arab Games athletics were held early, the organizers reaching a compromise and allowing all four days of athletics to go ahead before the official opening ceremonies on Aug.15th in order to allow the athletes time to make it to Seville in time for the World Athletics Championships. Jordan's Nada Kawar won the women's shot put and discus titles, while Tunisia's Ali Hkaimi, won both the 800 and 1500 meters.

The basketball competition also began early in order to allow the tournament to finish in time for Lebanon and Syria to go the the Asian Basketball Championships later in the month.

Two Moroccan women athletes are the first to fail doping tests at the games. Siham Hanifi, winner of the 200 meters and a member of the Moroccan 4X100 meter relay team, and Karima Shaheen, bronze medallist in the discus both tested positive for the steroid Nandrolone.

Kuwait, angry that Iraq was invited by Jordan to the Pan-Arab Games in Amman in August confirmed its intent to boycott the games and sent only a diplomatic representative to the Opening ceremony. Kuwait, ironically the only Arab nation to have participated in all eight previous Pan-Arab games, is protesting Iraq's participation hoping to bring attention to claims that Iraq is still holding many prisoners of war from the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Kuwait first voiced its intention to boycott these games in September of 1998. Iraq has been banned from previous Arab Games, an attempt to enter Syria for the 1997 games was unsuccessful leaving Iraqi athletes stranded at the border.

Three days after the Opening Ceremony, Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah President of the Kuwaiti Olympic Committee resigned from his position as a representative of the Arab Sports Federation citing interference from the Arab League in Arab sports matters as the reason for his resignation.

A second controversy at the games has arisen over the participation of a number of Qatar's weightlifters which Syria and Bulgaria claim are citizens and lifters from Bulgaria, Lebanon and Pakistan. The Qatari's denied the accusations claiming that all members of the Qatari weightlifting team have the required four years citizenship to participate in the games. After several days in which the weightlifting events were suspended, it was determined that one of the Qatari weightlifters had in fact represented Bulgaria, under a different name, and the entire Qatari weightlifting team has been disqualified from the competition.

Another controversy over eligibility centered around Lebanese gymnast Laila Sarkis-Khoury who resides in the US and holds an American passport. After several countries protested, her father was called upon to present papers verifying her Lebanese citizenship. Sarkis-Khoury went on to win the individual all-around gold medal.

Finally, Iraq has been told that it cannot bring its horses to the games for the equestrian events as the horses have not been able to meet strict health requirements. Jordan offered to let the Iraqi team use a number of its horses, but the Iraqis have not replied.

Daily Pan-Arab Games updates at the Jordan Times.

The Pan-American Games have concluded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

The hottest topics of the games were how many Cubans would defect by the end of the games, eleven, and did Javier Sotomayor really use cocaine?

The Winnipeg Sun, a local newspaper, offered a prize, a vacation to Cuba, to the reader who guessed the correct number of defections. we'll try and find out who that winner was.

Fidel Castro was not pleased with the treatment of the Cubans at the games saying "We have never seen so many tricks, so much filth at the Pan-Am Games. We are competing on enemy territory." Sports agents were seen lurking around the games village and even shining flashlights from their cars into the Cubans windows to get their attention and gamble on a chance to sign the top Cuban baseball talent. The Cubans called the games, "The worst in history", and mentioned a bid for the 2008 summer Olympics as a way to restore their pride.

The latest word is that Sotomayor will not compete in this months World Championships in Track and Field. He had the gold medal taken away at the Pan-American Games for a reported positive drug test for cocaine, but a back ailment, not drug controversy will keep him from jumping in Seville.

The good news for Cuba was a world record lift of 205.5 kilos in the clean-and-jerk for Hidalberto Aranda in the 77-kilo division.

A brawl marred the Canada - Guatemala football game. Police protection was required to escort the American referee from the field after the match. Four Guatemalans were suspended for the rest of the games.

Keep up with more Pan-American Games news at the Winnipeg Free Press and Slam! Sports.

Visit the Web site for the first State Games of America, a national sports festival for the USA. The concept is different from the (sadly, now defunct) US Olympic Festival, which wavered between focusing on developing up-and-coming athletes and catering to the professional athletes for marketing purposes.

The State Games of America are open to the winners of any of the state games competitions in the US. Currently 47 of the 50 US states have a summer multisport competition.

South East Asian Games conclude in Brunei

The South East Asian Games concluded in Brunei on August 14 with Thailand bringing home the most medals from the regional competition. Some of the events such as the football and basketball tournaments were watched enthusiastically, while other events, notably women's track and field had limited entries, with some events having only two competitors from the ten nations participating.

Malaysia, will host the next edition of the South East Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, with Vietnam and Philippines bidding for the 2003 games. The country not chosen for the 2003 games will be given the first chance to bid for the 2005 games.

Some nations were very disappointed with their showing at this year's games, notably the Philippines and Indonesia. Philippine President Joseph Estrada called his countries performance "very poor and very unfortunate". Indonesia's chef-de-mission for the games offered to resign after Indonesian athletes finished only third in the medals race, saying "I know Indonesians are very unhappy over the whole episode.."

1999 SEA Games Medals

Vietnam's win over Myanmar in a preliminary football match, sparked a celebration in Hanoi in which four people were killed and 150 injured. Impromptu illegal motorcycle races, said to be a tradition when Vietnam wins an international match, were blamed for the injuries. A week later five more people were killed under the same circumstances, with riot police called in to disperse the crowds. Vietnam lost the football final to Thailand and the streets in Hanoi were quiet, in part to road blocks and water cannon set up at major intersection by police.

Malaysian distance runner Murusamy Ramachandran won both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter runs, the fourth time in a row the 33-year-old has been able to pull off the feat. This time around was probably the most difficult as Ramachandran had lost his wife of less than 10 months to cancer earlier this year. Ramachandran has indicated he will attempt to win the double again at the next SEA Games in Jakarta in 2001.

Elma Muros-Posadas of the Philippines won her eighth SEA Games long jump medal, having won every long jump competition in the biennial competition since 1983, with the exception of 1987. Muros-Posadas has won over 20 gold medals in SEA games competition including wins in the sprints and heptathlon over the years.

Singapore's Joscelin Yao, swimming with an injured elbow, won six swimming gold medals, two silvers, and one bronze, but had to drop out of three events, to rest her elbow. Yao had won a total of 19 SEA Games gold medals prior to this years games. Thai swimmer Pilin Tchakittitanam competing in her first SEA Games won six gold and three silver medals.

IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch helped open the second edition of the World Military Games in Zagreb, Croatia on Saturday, the 8th of August. Military sportsmen from around the world will competed in the games until the 17th.

Miami, Florida drop bid for 2007 Pan-American Games

The anti-Cuba politics have finally ended the Miami bid for the 2007 Pan-American Games. The South Florida group withdrew their bid from consideration August 25th, leaving Raleigh, North Carolina and San Antonio, Texas as the two American candidates left.

Anti-Cuban sentiment from five Cuban-American commissioners on the Miami-Dade county council was the biggest hurdle for the 2007 bid committee, a hurdle they could not get over.

Rafael Garcia-Toledo, the chairman of the 2007 bid said, "We lost our best chance of hosting the biggest event this state has ever had. It's one thing to lose the competition to other cities; that's part of the game. But to lose because you killed yourself - that's frustrating."

The USOC is scheduled to make its choice between Raleigh and San Antonio on Oct. 24th. Guadalajara, Mexico, Santiago Chile and Rio de Janeiro are also interested in the games.

Asian Games Bids

The 2006 Asian Games were a hot topic at meetings during the South East Asian Games. Both Malaysia and Indonesia are serious about competing all out to host the games, despite fears that the two competing ASEAN nations might dilute the votes and the bid would go elsewhere. An agreement to let one country go all out for the bid might help its chances. The question is, will it be Indonesia or Malaysia? So far Hong Kong, India, Syria, Qatar and Uzbekistan are among the nations that have also expressed interest in hosting the games.

Maccabi Games Security

The shooting at a Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles has prompted organizers of the Maccabi Youth Games in Columbus, Ohio to add extra security at its venues. Teen-aged athletes from the US, Israel, Mexico and Canada are competing at the games, in Columbus. Three other cities are holding Maccabi Youth Games in August. Houston, Texas, Cherry Hill, N.J., and Rochester, N.Y.

More Expansion. Yet another games is branching out. The X Games have announced that they will "stage additional X Games events in the coming months and years in other regions of the world." The plan is to start at the Asian X Games qualifier in Phuket, Thailand in November of this year and include a Junior X Games competition for athletes from 10-14 years of age, from 12 Asian countries. The Junior X Games will included clinics by the pro X Games athletes.

The Afro-Asian Games which were first scheduled to be held in Pune, India in 1999, then New Delhi in November of 1999 have been postponed again until 2001.

Russian Medal Payday

The Russian medal-winning athletes from the Nagano Olympic Games, mentioned last month, will finally get their payday. A court order has released he assets for the payments which had been frozen during Russia's financial crisis. Gold medallists will receive $50,000, silver medallists $20,000 and bronze $10,000.

Salt Lake Continues to Offend.

Salt Lake City continues to stumble through its preparations for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, this time a candidate for mayor offending the visitors to be, and some of the hosts.

Jim Bradley, who lost the Governors race for the state of Utah in 1996, is running for mayor, and stated that hotel taxes should be "jacked up as high as we can possibly do it. We have to raise the car rental tax as high as we can possibly do it, even shamelessly high, to generate revenue. We have to look at opportunities like that to just screw 'em"

Bradley was given a chance to restate his thoughts, but only said. "It's not a mean-spirited idea. It's not a bad idea. It is a good idea that saves money for the citizens of Salt Lake. All I'm looking for are ways that the city's not left holding the bag."

Other

In another sad chapter in international sports, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait all decided to boycott the World Youth Handball Tournament in Doha, Qatar due to the participation of a team from Israel. During Israel's opening match, the 3,000 spectators booed and jeered and refused to stand for the Israeli national anthem.

The Qatari newspaper Al Sharq, petulantly stated, "the first Israeli sporting participation in an Arab capital is an occasion to express the Arabs' rejection of all that is Israel. The Kuwaiti newspaper, Al Rai Al Aam, published a racist cartoon of a handball player in an Israeli uniform, hanging crucified on a barbed wire Star of David.

No word on whether sanctions are due in response to the events.

September completes the busy summer games season with seven games on the schedule.