The following was sent to me by a friend in Europe.
To day, April 9, the newspaper “Il Giorno” published an interview with Cinquanta and Pietro Mennea about the idea of boycotting the Games in Beijing. Mennea has been a great Italian champion in track and field. He competed in five Olympic Games from 1972 to 1988, won the gold medal in Moscow in 1980, and kept the world record in the 200 meter for 17 years . He is now a manager in sport rights. He took part as a guest together with Cinquanta in a seminar on “Sport Management” at a University in Milan. Mennea, questioned on the idea of boycotting the Olympics in China replied:
“No I would not boycott the Olympic Games in Beijing, simply I would not have awarded them to China”. Cinquanta was asked the same question and declared: “I am against boycotting because it is useless. Besides I would like to tell Mr. Sarkozy: listen, if you do not come to Beijing., surely I will not cry, but, in your opinion, the strongest exporter of French perfumes would stop trading with China to boycott the Olympic Games? “ And to Mennea he replied: “Mennea is a good friend, a great athlete, but it is better that he shuts up, because one who says he would not award the Games to China, is the one who won in Moscow……. Mennea is an intelligent person, very successful also at university, but, his declaration, that I read, is not worthy of a man who lived the sport.”
Following this, Mennea attacked the IOC defining it a “Caste only interested in business” and added “The real problem is not China, the real problem is the caste of the IOC. These gentlemen on behalf of a presumed ideal make business and politics. Including the guy who reduces my sport career to an Olympic Game boycotted by the Americans. What is his name? Ottavio Cinquanta? let’s make it Quaranta ( note : cinqunata in Italian means fifty, and quaranta ,fourty) because it is obvious that this man does not know history. Not mine. And, even worse, not even that of Tibet…I do not want to talk of myself and I do not intend to answer to the provocation of Sessanta or Quaranta, one who, in 2001, voted in favour of the Olympic Games in Beijing, when everybody knew that in that country the human rights were not respected.” And he continues : “Even the IOC of the Quaranta or the Sessanta has always chosen to stay to the side of the strongest. Do you know why in 2001 they have voted for Beijing? Samaranch, the chief of the caste, was going in pension. To earn his place, the Belgian Rogge, needed the support of the Asian countries. They wanted the Olympic Games in Beijing. That’s all.------- As to Beijing, “The athletes must not pay because of the errors of the Quaranta, Cinquanta or Sessanta”.
Cinquanta added: "To stop the Games would be the only solution but the world sport would die in 48 hours. Because of the law suits filed by everybody, it would blow up. There are federations that live or survive only with the Olympic Games".
To day, April 9, the newspaper “Il Giorno” published an interview with Cinquanta and Pietro Mennea about the idea of boycotting the Games in Beijing. Mennea has been a great Italian champion in track and field. He competed in five Olympic Games from 1972 to 1988, won the gold medal in Moscow in 1980, and kept the world record in the 200 meter for 17 years . He is now a manager in sport rights. He took part as a guest together with Cinquanta in a seminar on “Sport Management” at a University in Milan. Mennea, questioned on the idea of boycotting the Olympics in China replied:
“No I would not boycott the Olympic Games in Beijing, simply I would not have awarded them to China”. Cinquanta was asked the same question and declared: “I am against boycotting because it is useless. Besides I would like to tell Mr. Sarkozy: listen, if you do not come to Beijing., surely I will not cry, but, in your opinion, the strongest exporter of French perfumes would stop trading with China to boycott the Olympic Games? “ And to Mennea he replied: “Mennea is a good friend, a great athlete, but it is better that he shuts up, because one who says he would not award the Games to China, is the one who won in Moscow……. Mennea is an intelligent person, very successful also at university, but, his declaration, that I read, is not worthy of a man who lived the sport.”
Following this, Mennea attacked the IOC defining it a “Caste only interested in business” and added “The real problem is not China, the real problem is the caste of the IOC. These gentlemen on behalf of a presumed ideal make business and politics. Including the guy who reduces my sport career to an Olympic Game boycotted by the Americans. What is his name? Ottavio Cinquanta? let’s make it Quaranta ( note : cinqunata in Italian means fifty, and quaranta ,fourty) because it is obvious that this man does not know history. Not mine. And, even worse, not even that of Tibet…I do not want to talk of myself and I do not intend to answer to the provocation of Sessanta or Quaranta, one who, in 2001, voted in favour of the Olympic Games in Beijing, when everybody knew that in that country the human rights were not respected.” And he continues : “Even the IOC of the Quaranta or the Sessanta has always chosen to stay to the side of the strongest. Do you know why in 2001 they have voted for Beijing? Samaranch, the chief of the caste, was going in pension. To earn his place, the Belgian Rogge, needed the support of the Asian countries. They wanted the Olympic Games in Beijing. That’s all.------- As to Beijing, “The athletes must not pay because of the errors of the Quaranta, Cinquanta or Sessanta”.
Cinquanta added: "To stop the Games would be the only solution but the world sport would die in 48 hours. Because of the law suits filed by everybody, it would blow up. There are federations that live or survive only with the Olympic Games".
