said Monday it has agreed to send taekwondo fighter Yoriko Okamoto to the Athens Olympics despite an internal feud in the Japan Taekwondo Federation (JTF) having yet to be resolved.
The 32-year-old Okamoto will be allowed to apply for the Summer Games as an independent competitor, and thus will not be required to receive permission from the JTF or the Japan Taekwondo Association (JTA), a new body launched due to the long-running dispute in the JTF.