Australian Olympians plan to defy social-media restrictions at next month's Winter Olympics — and they made their announcement via Twitter, no less.
The Australian Olympic Committee announced a partial social-media ban for Aussie athletes in Sochi, Russia, following a disappointing performance by the country's swim team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. A subsequent investigation of the swim team's poor showing found social-media interactions with fans and other athletes had been a distraction for the Australians.
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This time around, Australian athletes will face stricter limits on social-media use from their country's Olympic committee. Using social media on team buses to and from competitions, for example, is not allowed. The team also faces stricter rules on partying and socializing in Russia.
On Twitter, some Australian Olympians have already voiced their displeasure.
Snowboarder Scotty James posted this tweet late last week:
No social media, no partying and no personal devices allowed at the Winter Olympics for Aus team. Cheers Australian swim team...
— Scotty James (@scottyjames31) January 3, 2014
Fellow snowboarder and 2010 gold medalist Torah Bright (pictured above) replied as follows:
@scottyjames31 good one! I'll be breaking a few rules this time round!
— Torah Bright (@TorahBright) January 3, 2014
And one more Aussie snowboarder, Belle Brockhoff, agreed:
@TorahBright @scottyjames31 ditto
— Belle Brockhoff (@bellebrockhoff) January 3, 2014
Of course, at this point, social-media rules and stated intentions to defy them mean little. Before the 2012 Games — dubbed the world's "first social Olympics" — athletes and media alike criticized the International Olympic Committee's rules about where and when social media could be used.
But that anxiety ended up being unfounded, as no athletes found themselves in trouble for breaking the IOC rules. A Greek triple jumper was booted from the Games by her country's Olympic committee after tweeting a racist joke, however, and British diver Tom Daley had a memorable run-in with a Twitter troll.
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