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Algerian Judoka Disqualified From Olympics Before Bout Against Israeli

FILE - Victor Sterpu of Moldova, background and Tohar Butbul of Israel compete during their men’s -73kg round of 16 judo match at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, July 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, FIle)
FILE - Victor Sterpu of Moldova, background and Tohar Butbul of Israel compete during their men’s -73kg round of 16 judo match at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, July 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, FIle)
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Algerian Judoka Disqualified From Olympics Before Bout Against Israeli

FILE - Victor Sterpu of Moldova, background and Tohar Butbul of Israel compete during their men’s -73kg round of 16 judo match at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, July 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, FIle)
FILE - Victor Sterpu of Moldova, background and Tohar Butbul of Israel compete during their men’s -73kg round of 16 judo match at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, July 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, FIle)

Algerian judoka Messaoud Redouane Dris was disqualified on Sunday for exceeding the weight limit the day before his Olympic 73 kg bout against Israeli Tohar Butbul, organizers said.

The 22-year-old weighed in at 73.4 kg in Paris, resulting in him being removed from the draw by the international judo federation.

Organizers said in a statement that Dris had "failed the weigh-in" and therefore his opponent would "win the scheduled contest by walkover".

In the past several other judokas have pulled out or refused to compete against Israeli opponents.

The Algerian national Olympic committee declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

"Tohar's competitor has removed himself from the competition," the Israeli Olympic Committee said in a statement.

Dris's compatriot Fethi Nourine was sent home from the Tokyo Olympics three years ago for refusing to fight Butbul.

"We worked a lot to reach the Olympics... but the Palestinian cause is bigger than all of this," Nourine said at the time.

At least 39,258 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched a military campaign in retaliation for an attack on October 7 last year by Hamas militants, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry.

 

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Olympic Organizers Cancel Second Day of Triathlon Training in Seine over Pollution

French authorities have invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to clean up the Seine. JOEL SAGET / AFP
French authorities have invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to clean up the Seine. JOEL SAGET / AFP
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Olympic Organizers Cancel Second Day of Triathlon Training in Seine over Pollution

French authorities have invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to clean up the Seine. JOEL SAGET / AFP
French authorities have invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to clean up the Seine. JOEL SAGET / AFP

Olympic organizers canceled a second day of triathlon training in the River Seine planned for Monday after weekend downpours in Paris polluted the waterway, but said they were "confident" the medal events would be held this week.
In a joint statement, Paris 2024 organizers and World Triathlon said they had taken the decision to cancel Monday's swimming training session because "water quality levels... do not present sufficient guarantees" to allow it to take place, Agence France Presse said.
The triathlon is the first Olympic event due to be held in the Seine, before marathon swimming in the second week of the Games. A swimming training session slated for Sunday was also canceled due to the pollution levels.
The men's individual triathlon is scheduled to start on Tuesday at 8:00 am (06000 GMT), with the women's individual event to be held on Wednesday.
The quality of the Seine's water is dependent on the amount of rain that falls in and around Paris.
Heavy downpours of the sort seen on Friday during the sodden opening ceremony of the Games overwhelm the city's sewage system, leading to discharges of untreated effluent into the waterway.
The Paris 2024 organizers and World Triathlon, however, said they were "confident" that water quality would improve sufficiently before the start of competition on Tuesday, taking into account the weather forecast for the next 48 hours.
After downpours on Friday and Saturday, the sun has returned to the French capital since Sunday morning.
Due to an exceptionally wet spring and start to summer, the Seine had been consistently failing water tests until the start of July.
Levels of the E.Coli bacteria -- an indicator of fecal matter -- were sometimes 10 times higher than authorized limits.
Paris 2024 organizers have the ability to delay the outdoor swimming events by several days in the event of rain.
As a last resort, they have said they will cancel the swimming leg of the triathlon and move the marathon swimming to Vaires-sur-Marne, on the Marne river east of Paris.
French authorities have invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) over the last decade to clean up the Seine.
On July 17, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the Seine along with Paris 2024 chief organizer Tony Estanguet to demonstrate it was ready for the Olympics.