SCARLET FACES IN ATLANTA

Yesterday's Olympic bloomers

Thursday 01 August 1996 18:02 EDT
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Julie Pound did not do her husband any favours when she allegedly kneed a policewoman in the groin when the officer tried to stop the couple jaywalking in Atlanta's streets.

Dick Pound, a former Canadian Olympic swimmer and a top man on the International Olympic Committee, had some explaining to do after 56-year-old Julie was charged with obstruction, abusive language and battery.

The battling spouse had to be handcuffed, according to the arresting officer's report, which added that Pound had the "odour of alcohol on her breath and continued to act irrationally".

The arrest was seen as an embarrassment to the IOC, which already has strained relations with Atlanta Games organisers after a series of logistical glitches.

However, the IOC spokeswoman, Michele Verdier, said that the organisation was not getting involved in the case."It's a private matter, it's a police matter, we don't have to interfere," she said.

"We are all human beings and I consider when I walk in the street and I misbehave, not during IOC duties, it is not an official matter. It's private life." she said.

"We can't control what happens in the street and that's the reason why we consider this to be a private matter."

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