Paris, France — Chef de mission Ian Kelly, Team Jamaica, has been adhering to the security measures put in place by French authorities for the Paris Games.

France has rolled out a vast operation to ensure the security of the Olympic Games, deploying more than 30,000 police officers, 20,000 security guards, and 10,000 military personnel. The risk of foreign interference or a terrorist attack remains high, according to French intelligence services. A report by public radio station France Inter said that French intelligence services have identified a dozen leaders of the Islamic State group in Turkey and Syria capable of activating terrorist sleeper cells in France at any time.

“There have been enhanced measures with respect to security, and you can understand why,” Kelly said. “We are operating in a world where there are different happenings, given what we have seen in the last two years, and I think the organisers have recognised that and have put things in place to ensure that any possibility can be mitigated immediately.”

Kelly says these measures are for the safety of all at the Olympic Games and all are aware of them. He says the management team will be doing all it can to ensure that athletes are safe during the championships.

“There is nothing specific towards Jamaica; it is more about being proactive, and I think that is a good thing,” he said. “These are protocols that we knew about prior to getting into Paris and measures that we were required to put into place and we have adhered to them.

“I haven’t heard one complaint, and none of my management team have said that we are having any issues. We are happy with the security measures that have been put in place and we are working with them.”