by Rod Hughes
Although a spokesman for the National Olympics Committee defended Jorge Nery Carvajal’s 21 years of serving amateur sports in Costa Rica as a generous volunteer, it appears his days are numbered as chairman, due to this country’s dismal showing at the Panamerican Games recently in Rio de Janeiro, the worst performance in a quarter century.
The 21 federations representing various sports are calling for his head, including seven that voted for him a few short months ago: tennis, skateboarding, taekwondo, billiards, triathlon, squash and karate. Although gymnastics voted against him in 2006, the group’s president refused to sign the petition to put the skids under Carvajal.
An ominous sign for Carvajal is that Silvia Gonzalez, (triathlon) one of petition’s signees, is also a member of the board of directors.
In an interview with Channel 7 news last night, Carvajal disavowed responsibility for the disaster at the Pan American Games and turned it toward the individual federations.