Rio de Janeiro, Aug 18 (IANS) The Rio Olympics Organising Committee has expressed its sorrow for the way some Brazilian fans have been booing athletes from other countries during the Games.
Rio 2016 Olympics' spokesperson Mario Andrada said at a press conference on Wednesday that "booing is not the right way to help anyone. We are continuing to work on this, we are trying to hold a dialogue with spectators so that this topic ends and does not affect athletes", reports Xinhua.
"We have begun a dialogue on social media and we are releasing messages in Portuguese about the right way to support and help the athletes," added Andrada.
The spokesperson also cited the events on Tuesday at the Olympic Stadium, where Brazil's pole vaulter Thiago Braz da Silva won gold with a 6.03 metre jump.
France's defending champion Renaud Lavillenie came second but was booed during his jumps and the medal ceremony.
"We sold 53,828 tickets for the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday. The gold medal winner (from Brazil) in pole vaulting was a surprise and the crowd lost control during the last jumps. It was very delicate," said Andrada.
The booing of Lavillenie led the president of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach to express his displeasure.
He wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, "Shocking behaviour for the crowd to boo Renaud Lavillenie on the medal podium. Unacceptable at the Olympics."
--IANS
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