Romanian Olympians Upset with Sydney Accommodations

Trying to find the Romanian athletes, we were hit by a wave of disgruntled complaints. Seemingly, the ones who are most upset are the members of the boxing team. Head coach Francisc Vastag & his assistant, Grigore Bondavali, are disappointed with the team apartments. "There isn't enough space & the rooms are not properly set-up. The rooms are fairly cold and they don't have the comfort athletes would need." The Romanian team officials aren't too pleased, either, but they'll only admit that half-heartedly. "In some rooms, they had to put in a third bed. I understood the organizers have problems due to the high number of competitors, but they have to offer the athletes a minimum comfort. Unfortunately, our delegation was given five houses,and they look more like industrial containers", said Alexandru Mogos, head of the artistic gymnastic delegation.

Others added to his complaints "We have a common bathroom down the hall. Each room should have its own bathroom, but that's not the case", added Simona Richter, member of the judo team. She added "there's 9 girls sleeping in two bedrooms in our house. I heard it's the same for the gymnasts, but at least they're smaller." Besides, "we don't have enough room to store our clothes and equipment.", she added. Their complaints don't stop with their rooms. According to Romanian athletes, there are too many athletes trying to get on the Internet or play video games, and "there are very few places were you can relax", said Simona Richter, who concluded "it was much better in Atlanta, from every possible standpoint",

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