New Zealand "Deeply Shocked" After Canada Drone-Spies on Its Olympic Practices—Twice
New Zealand has expressed its outrage and disbelief after a Canadian drone was spotted spying on the country’s Olympic athletes during their training practices on two separate occasions. The incident has sent shockwaves throughout the country, with officials condemning the actions as a "gross violation" of privacy and trust.
According to reports, the drone, which is believed to have been operated by the Canadian national team, was seen hovering over the Ka Mate Sports Park in Tauranga, where New Zealand’s rugby sevens team was practicing in January. The drone was allegedly flying low over the field, capturing footage and taking photos of the athletes as they trained.
This was not an isolated incident. The Canadian drone was spotted again last month, hovering over the same sports park as the New Zealand women’s hockey team prepared for the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo. The team’s coach, Shane O’Neill, described the incident as "absolutely disgusting" and said that it had left the team feeling "vulnerable" and "humiliated."
New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) Chief Executive, Kereyn Smith, released a statement condemning the actions of the Canadian team. "We are deeply shocked and disturbed by this unacceptable behavior," she said. "Spying on our athletes and their training practices is a gross violation of privacy and trust. We expect the Canadian Olympic Committee to take immediate action to prevent this kind of behavior from happening again."
The incident has sparked widespread outrage in New Zealand, with many calling for the Canadian Olympic Committee to apologize and take concrete steps to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. The country’s Minister of Sport, Grant Robertson, weighed in on the issue, saying that the incident was "unacceptable" and that "Canada needs to take responsibility and make sure it doesn’t happen again."
The Canadian Olympic Committee has apologized for the incident, releasing a statement saying that it " regrets any inconvenience or distress caused" to the New Zealand athletes. However, the damage has already been done, and the incident has left a sour taste in the mouth of the Kiwi sporting community.
This is not the first time that issues have arisen between New Zealand and Canada at the Olympic Games. In 2016, there was a controversy surrounding the New Zealand rowing team’s equipment being left on the dock, allowing Canada to use it in a medal event. However, this latest incident is on a much larger scale, and has raised serious questions about the ethical conduct of athletes and teams at the highest level of international sport.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee has launched an investigation into the incident and has notified the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of the alleged breach of privacy. It is expected that the IOC will also conduct an investigation and take appropriate action to ensure that athletes are protected from similar breaches of privacy in the future.
For now, the incident has left New Zealand’s athletes feeling uneasy and upset, and has raised serious concerns about the levels of sportsmanship and respect that are expected of athletes at the Olympic Games.