RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil football legend Pele said poor health will prevent him from lighting the Olympic cauldron at the Games' opening ceremony on Friday as he had hoped to do. Former football player Pele holds the Olympic flame at the Pele Museum in Santos, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, on July 22, 2016"Dear friends, only God is more important than my health!" "In my life I have had fractures, operations, pain, hospitalizations, victories and defeats, but I have always respected those who admire me," he said in the statement. He first said scheduling commitments for his sponsors had to be resolved before he could confirm whether he would light the cauldron. Pele said on Wednesday that the International Olympic Committee had asked him to carry the torch to the cauldron in Rio's Maracana stadium at Friday night's ceremony.

Source: Bangkok Post August 05, 2016 17:37 UTC