Beijing Winter Olympics brouhaha: Ministry acted in ignorance - GOC boss
The president of the Ghana Olympics Committee (GOC), Mr Ben Nunoo Mensah, says the Ministry for Youth and Sports was misinformed about the number of persons who were supposed to accompany Ghanaian skier, Carlos Maeder, to the ongoing Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
“It was a complete misinformation and ignorance regarding the number of persons accompanying an Olympic athlete to the Olympics or any international games or competition,” the GOC president told Daily Graphic in an exclusive interview in Accra.
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Mr Nunoo Mensah therefore expressed his disappointment at a statement issued by the Ministry for Youth and Sports last week indicating that not more than three persons would be financed to the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Justification
He explained that the Olympic Charter states that an athlete should not be accompanied by less than seven persons made up of a physiotherapist, a coach, a chef de mission, a doctor and an administrator.
"This is the basis; an athlete should have not less than seven persons in his entourage," he stressed.
The GOC president revealed that an athlete is also stipulated by the IOC to have a Covid Liaison Officer (CLO) due to the pandemic.
"The president of the Olympic Committee and the secretary general are always invited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), whether their native state qualified to an Olympics or not, and their tickets, accommodation and everything needed by them is paid for by the IOC; that has always been the case," he explained further.
"The athlete belongs to a federation or an association and the president or the head of such body is also expected to travel with the athlete," he emphasised.
Mr Nunoo Mensah stated that the Ministry was wrongly advised and the optics were bad for Ghana's Olympics image, considering the fact that only two persons, alpine skier, Carlos Maeder, and his trainer were seen holding aloft the flag of Ghana at the opening ceremony of the Games last Friday.
"We are one of the five non-snowy countries that qualified to this year's Olympics and we should have showcased ourselves well, including our rich culture and values," he lamented.
He said there is nothing wrong with officials, experts and a delegation leading an athlete or athletes to an international competition.
"What is wrong if an official delegation escorts Ghanaian athletes to share ideas, familiarise with each other and learn new things pertaining to the IOC?" he questioned.
He said such a delegation comprises essential staff who are sine qua non and needed to be there.
"For instance, if the Chief Director or the Finance Director of the Ministry joins us on a trip, he is there to dispense with funds and account for them to the state so he needed to be there," he stated.
In spite of the setback, Mr Nunoo Mensah said his focus was to ensure Maeder trained hard for his competition on February 13 and 14.