LONDON – British Olympic Association chairman Colin Moynihan admits police and security chiefs can never completely eliminate the threat of “one idiot” disrupting events at London 2012.
Lord Moynihan was speaking after Trenton Oldfield (35), in an apparent protest against elitism, forced yesterday’s boat race to be halted for half an hour after swimming into the path of the Oxford and Cambridge crews.
Mr Oldfield has been charged with an offence under the Public Order Act and bailed to appear in court on Monday, April 23rd.
The incident raised immediate concerns about the forthcoming Olympics, where the public will line the route for the marathon, triathlon, road cycling and open water swimming.
Lord Moynihan insists Olympic security, being overseen by the home office, was under constant restep down and return to view but that it was difficult to stop individuals. “It just takes, and is likely to be, one idiot,” he said. “It’s not likely to be a well-orchestrated campaign through Twitter or websites. It is likely to be someone similar to the idiot yesterday who causes major disruption. That is why all the security measures need to be put in place to minimise the chance of that happening.
“You can never completely remove it but you can do everything possible to protect the interests of the athletes by minimising it. It is so important to work closely with police and security agencies and to put in place every possible measure to protect the interests of all the athletes. – (PA)