Olympic greats Bubka, Popov deny Rio 2016 vote-buying claims

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Olympic gold medalists Sergey Bubka and Alexander Popov are denying claims made in a Brazilian court they were paid to vote for Rio de Janeiro’s winning bid to host the 2016 Summer Games.

The International Olympic Committee says its ethics commission has contacted both men about the allegation Thursday by jailed former Rio state governor Sergio Cabral.

Cabral’s testimony echoed details of ongoing Olympic vote-buying investigations in Brazil and France involving Brazilian Olympic official Carlos Nuzman and the family of then-IAAF president Lamine Diack.

Pole vault great Bubka and swimming star Popov were IOC members voting in October 2009 in a four-candidate contest that included Chicago.

Bubka, now an IOC executive board member, says he “completely reject(s) all the false claims.”

Popov, an IOC member from 2000-16, says he didn’t vote for Rio and “did not participate in any negotiations.”

Both men say they’re preparing law suits for defamation.

Another IOC member, four-time Olympic sprint medalist Frank Fredericks, is currently suspended while implicated in getting a $300,000 payment on the day of the 2016 Olympics vote.