It seems that Olympic athletes are fighting several clearance and validation issues for the 2012 Olympic Games. United States tennis team hopefuls, twins Bob and Mike Bryan, ran into their own serious problems when trying to get into Olympic Park. Tim Curry is the director of the United States Tennis Association (not the Rocky Horror Picture Show Tim Curry). The Bryan twins are predicted to earn gold in 2012 for the US men's doubles tennis tournament.

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The problems began for the Bryan twins on Tuesday when they did not go to the proper security checkpoint upon entering Olympic Park. The twins also failed to have their accreditations validated at the correct welcoming desk. They were promptly sent back to the welcome center, delaying their entry to the London Games. The Bryan twins also missed an important team news conference due to their being held so long at the checkpoint.

Next, there is Vamilet Pena, who is a gymnast predicted to win gold for the Dominican Republic. Her problem Tuesday was a small discrepancy between her passport and her Olympic credential details. While trying to sort these problems out, Pena ended up spending over four hours waiting for officials to give her passport and credentials the clearance needed to legally enter the country.

Each of the athletes who experienced problems entering London had one of two issues. Either they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or they had conflicting data on their passport and/or identification. While it did take a long time, each athlete was eventually given clearance to enter the country and the Olympic Park area.

Why all the trouble entering London? Some may say it's the red tape that makes immigration such a slow process. While this sounds like a reasonable answer, there is also another possibility: disgruntled workers. According to those in the know, authorities worked around the clock to prevent a major strike in London. It seems that the immigration staff in England is totally fed up with poor pay and job cuts. Now, take a number, head to the back of the line and someone will be with you soon.

Want an easy way to know which Olympics events are airing when, and on which channel? The BuddyTV Guide app's new "2012 Olympics" listings puts all the events, organized by your airtimes and channels, in the palm of your hand.

Nikki Seay
Contributing Writer

(Image courtesy of WENN)