Olympic chief Jacques Rogge said yesterday that the Olympics would rebound from the Beijing Games torch relay "crisis" and urged athletes not to lose faith in the movement.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, speaking at the opening session of the IOC's executive board meeting, said athletes around the world were in "disarray" after the disruption of the torch relay in Europe by Tibet activists and others.
"Go back to your countries and tell your athletes and reassure them that whatever they might have seen and heard, the Games will be very well organised," Rogge told the leaders of the 205 national Olympic Committees.
"This is going to be their Games and they will enjoy it. Tell them not to lose faith in the Olympic movement. Tell them we will rebound from this crisis," he said.
"Tell them that they are going to set an example and the world will be watching."
Rogge said the torch relay leg in San Francisco on Wednesday had been an improvement over protest-disrupted legs in London and Paris earlier this week but still fell short of the ideal.
"We were saddened by what we saw in London and Paris. We were sad for the athletes and the torch bearers. We were sad for the children who watched their heroes and role models booed," Rogge said.
"Fortunately, the situation was much better in San Francisco yesterday. It was, however, not the joyous party that we had wished it to be," he said.
In San Francisco on Wednesday, the torch relay's only stop in North America, crowds were left disappointed and baffled by a last-minute decision to change the route of the relay. As a result, many people did not see the flame after an opening ceremony when it was diverted from the original route.
Deadly riots in Tibet on March 14 and China's response to unrest there and in other Western regions of the country have come to dominate preparations for the Beijing Olympics.
Tibet activists disrupted the relay at its lighting in Ancient Olympia, and then in London and Paris on Monday, where the torch was extinguished several times and the route cut short.
Peaceful resolution
Rogge again expressed his "serious concerns" and hope for a "rapid and peaceful resolution" to the Tibet "crisis", but said the IOC must remain focused on the Games.
"Athletes in many countries are in disarray and we need to reassure them," he said.
"Our responsibility is to offer them the Games they deserve... They must be underpinned by a respect for ethical values, no doping, no cheating and respect for human rights. The Games are about generosity, we have 120 days to achieve this."
The flame continues on its 137,000-km "Journey of Harmony" around the world, with a stop in Buenos Aires this morning.
The Free Tibet Campaign yesterday called for Rogge to pull Tibet from the torch relay.
"If the IOC fails to make such an announcement, it can expect a summer of protests outside its offices, and those of the Torch Relay sponsors," said Tibet activist Matt Whitticase.
The Olympic flame is scheduled to visit Tibet twice. Efforts will be made to take the flame up Mount Everest in early May if weather conditions allow.
The Himalayan region also features on the torch's main domestic relay on June 19-21.