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Australian athletes partially banned from social media at Sochi Olympics

Australia

Australian athletes at the Sochi Olympics have been barred from using social media at training, competition and while traveling between the athletes’ village and competition venues.

The ban is part of the official guidelines for the Olympic team, according to the Australian.

In November, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) outlawed its athletes from such actions as “swaying,” “rambling” and “staggering or falling down” in Sochi.

Earlier this week, Australia set out travel restrictions for its athletes after two suicide bombs killed more than 30 people in Volgograd, a city of one million 400 miles northeast of Sochi.

“None of our athletes will be traveling to or from Sochi by car, bus or train (all will be traveling by air); none will be training or competing outside of Sochi in Russia; and none will be holidaying elsewhere in Russia after the Games,” AOC president John Coates said in a statement.

Australian Olympic champion snowboarder Torah Bright has said she will skip the Sochi Olympics if safety problems worsen in Russia.

Another Australian snowboarder, Scotty James, was not happy with Friday’s news.

Bright’s account retweeted James’ tweet.

The Australian swim team was pilloried for conduct at the 2012 London Olympics, where they underperformed and some male members bullied teammates.

“Athletes in London got distracted by social media, which impacted performances,” AOC spokesman Mike Tancred said, according to the Australian. “We don’t want that to happen in Sochi.”

Photos: Vladimir Putin skis on Sochi slopes

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