Games organisers race against clock

SANTO DOMINGO: Dominican sports officials must be nervously eyeing the clock. The Pan American Games open tomorrow, and their “to-do” list looks daunting. Hundreds of workers toiled under a hot sun yesterday morning at a training area adjacent to the Olympic Stadium. The incessant hum of machinery drowned out the voices of visiting athletes and coaches. Tractors rolled back and forth, earth was being dug up and garbage cleared. Officials said that only 12 of the 35 international sports federations have approved the various installations. The Guatemalan shooting team said they’ve been unable to train for the last four days because the range isn’t ready; work also has to be done on the volleyball courts; in the city of San Cristobal, the floodlights at the football stadium aren’t working yet.

Elsewhere, workers were rushing to plant flowers, dig paths and erect signs and tents. Perhaps of most concern, the track at the capital’s Olympic Stadium has yet to be inspected or approved by the IAAF,  officials said. The president of the Pan American Sporting Organisation, Mexican Mario Vazquez Rana, said on Tuesday night that he expects quick approval, but nevertheless sounded a warning. “They’ve been saying for four days now that the track will be certified and it still hasn’t happened,” he said. “I hope this problem is resolved quickly.”
The head of the organising committee, Jose Joaquin Puello, was confident the approval was imminent. “This track was built following all the regulations and standards of the international federation. There’ll be no problem with that,” he said.  Some 5,000 athletes from 42 countries are participating in the games, which will feature 35 different sports. The country’s Sports Minister, Cesar Cedeno, however, was convinced that the games would be a success and emphasised the obstacles faced by his country —- one of the poorest in the Americas —- were inevitable. “We’ll make a good impression with the PASO (Pan American Sports Organisation) and all the participating countries,” he said. “Our country has made a great effort to prove that poor countries can do things well.” The cost of organising the games has fuelled a wave of  criticism in the Dominican Republic, with many saying the money would have been better spent on health, education and providing food to the poor. But officials said a successful tournament would bode well for the country.