RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian soccer great Pele says ill health prevents him from going to opening ceremony of Rio Olympics. Brazil’s former volleyball player Isabel Barroso Salgado, right, and Rio de Janeiro’s Archbishop Orani Joao Tempesta hold the Olympic torch in front of the Christ the Redeemer statue on its way for the opening ceremony of Rio’s 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) Pele says his poor health will keep him from lighting the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics. In a statement on Friday, Pele says “I’m not physically able to attend the opening of the Olympics.” Friday’s opening ceremony will need to fill a void without Brazil’s most famous athlete. He had hip surgery several years ago and often walks with the help of a cane. In his statement, Pele says: “Only God is more important [...]
