Ticketing problems have been sadly one of the stories of Ireland's Olympic Games in Brazil.
Two Irishmen, Kevin Mallon and Pat Hickey, remain in a Rio de Janeiro prison in relation to local enquiries over ticket sales at the Games.
The father of 3,000-metre steeplechase finalist Sara Treacy has revealed that he found it very difficult to buy tickets to see his daughter compete in Brazil, from Pro 10, the Authorised Ticket Reseller for the Olympic Council of Ireland.
Liam Treacy told the Irish Times, that he was able to buy tickets to see his daughter compete from Brazilian and French websites, as he was originally incorrectly told he was only allowed buy tickets from Pro 10.
@sara_treacy 's mammy & daddy giving it large for more than their daughter in Rio 😂ðŸ‘👠pic.twitter.com/BVcj9AYbHa
— cliona foley (@ponyyelof) August 14, 2016
"I ordered by email, had to do a bank transfer for the 18 tickets I ordered. They didn’t take credit cards and had no online ordering facility. We had to wait several weeks before our purchase was confirmed and they had to be delivered by registered post."
The Rio Olympics were damaged by poor attendances in most venues, with the Olympic Stadium regularly having empty seats during key sessions. Despite the apparent availability of seats, Mr. Treacy added that he spoke to other people who struggled to find tickets.
"Every athletics fan I met here had similar ticket stories and scrambled all over the place to get what they wanted and at exorbitant prices."
Treacy had one of Ireland's best results from the athletics team at Rio 2016. The 27-year-old finished in 17th place in the final.
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