'Totally wrong': Awful on-air remark sparks Olympic racism row
A German cycling administrator has had to apologise after he was overheard on camera making racist remarks about a competitor during the men's time trial at the Tokyo Olympics.
In the late stages of the time trial, German cyclist Nikias Arndt had managed to chase down Algeria’s Azzedine Lagab and Eritrea’s Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier.
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Needing his rider to make a pair of swift overtakes to stay in contention, German official Patrick Noster was overheard on a broadcast microphone saying 'get the camel drivers, get the camel drivers, come on'.
The comments were heard on the live broadcast of the time trial in Germany, with ARD host Florian Nass denouncing them as 'totally wrong'.
"Words fail me. Something like that has no place in sport," Nass said.
Soon afterwards, Noster came forward to offer an apology for his comments.
Speaking with German media after the time trial, he said he had become carried away in the heat of the moment.
“I was in the feed zone and cheered on Nikias Arndt,” he told DPA.
“In the heat of the moment and with the overall burden that we have here at the moment, my choice of words was not appropriate.
“I am extremely sorry and can only offer my sincere apologies. I didn’t want to offend anyone.”
Arndt finished the time trial in 19th, with Australian rider Rohan Dennis claiming the bronze medal behind the Netherlands' Tom Dumoulin and Slovenia's Primož Roglič.
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The heat conditions tennis players are forced to compete in at the Tokyo Olympics has again caused controversy after Paula Badosa was wheeled out of her tennis match and Daniil Medvedev claimed he felt like he could 'die' out on the court.
Medvedev, along with Novak Djokovic, has been one of the vocal critics of playing the tennis schedule later in the day as temperatures soar above 31 degrees celsius in Tokyo, which is accompanied by sweltering humidity.
The heat on the court and the humidity made temperatures on court feel like 37 degrees celsius on Wednesday.
And Medvedev's concerns seemed justified on a day that saw him struggle against Italian Fabio Fognini.
Medvedev was struggling so much with the suffocating heat and humidity at the Ariake Tennis Park on Wednesday that at one point the chair umpire, Carlos Ramos, asked him if he could continue playing.
"I can finish the match but I can die," Medvedev said, before putting his hands on his knees in agony in front of the chair umpire.
"If I die, are you going to be responsible?"
Afterward, Medvedev said he felt "darkness" in his eyes.
"I didn't know what to do to feel better," the ROC player added. "I was ready to just fall down on the court."
Fognini was also seen taking shelter in the shade in between points to avoid the sweltering heat on court.
Medvedev, fortunately, recovered and went on to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
With AAP
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