International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge conceded in an interview to a Greek newspaper on Christmas Eve that the Olympic Games of 2004 in Athens did aggravate up to a certain extent the Greek debt.
"You can fairly say that the 2004 Games played their part. If you look at the external debt of Greece, there could be up to 2 to 3 percent of that that could be attributed to the Games.
"It could have been staged at a much lower cost, as there were delays that rendered double shifts necessary, and having people work at night does cost more," said Rogge.
The 69-year-old Belgian, who was in Athens a few days ago on the occasion of the lighting of the flame for the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck in January, also stated that the post-Game utilization of installations should have been prepared better, although there was some success in cases like the Olympic Badminton Centre that is now the Badminton Theatre.
Rogge went on to suggest that sprinter Katerina Thanou, who received a two-year ban for missing a doping test in 2004, did not get the gold medal for the Sydney Olympics that should have been hers after disgraced rival Marion Jones returned it in 2007, as the 200-meter silver-medal-holder had betrayed the Olympic values.
The International Amateur Athletics Federation has already acknowledged Thanou as the winner of the Sydney 200-metre final.
Rogge also attributed Thanou's non-participation in the 2008 Olympics to the Hellenic Olympic Committee, but also claimed that she had not qualified. In fact the Greek sprinter had actually registered the time that should have taken her to Beijing three years ago.
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