Mamamia Team Monday 16 July 2012 8:08am

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Profits from the magazine’s sales will go to the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Olympic shooters Russell and Lauryn Mark are angry. Surprisingly, their anger is not directed at whoever came up with the idea of Lauren posing for this cover of Zoo magazine in a bikini. With a gun. With bullet holes. As a way to ‘promote awareness of shooting’.

No, no. They’re totally cool with that.

However.

The couple – who have been married for 8 years – have been told they won’t be allowed to share a room in the London games’ Athlete’s Village.

Some of us would think that was cause for celebration. A whole bed to yourself?  Starfish time! But Russell and Lauren are not happy. They are majorly pissed off.

The couple say not being able to sleep in the same bed might will disrupt their routine and could affect their performance at the games.

Russell claims that the ban is actually retribution because of his own controversial stance on the use of sleeping pills by athletes and also because of his wife’s decision to pose in a bikini for the cover of Zoo Weekly. (Pictured on the left.)

The couple also claim that the ban is unfair given that homosexual athletes are allowed to share rooms during the games:

Russell and Lauryn Mark

“The stupid part of this, which I have argued to them, is that there are tons of gay couples on the Olympic team who will be rooming together so we are being discriminated against because we are heterosexual.” Mark said.

“Every couple, whether they are married or de facto should have the AOC trying to bend over backwards to accommodate their needs…

“It’s just too hard for them. What I am asking them isn’t too hard but its obvious the AOC have a problem with it.”

Oh yes. Discrimination of heteros. That’s what it is. How awful.

The AOC says all athletes are given single gender rooms and it’s the responsibility of the section manager of each sport to decide whether couples can share a room.

Samantha Donovan from the ABC spoke to Nick Sullivan, who manages the Olympic Village about the issue. She reports:

NICK SULLIVAN: What I’ll be doing is moving into the village on the Monday and having a look at the rooms, making sure that we’ve covered all the bases and that we’ve got sufficient space for everybody.

Our intention is to try and make sure that the team gets the best opportunity and obviously that incorporates the two of our shooting couples that we have going over there.

SAMANTHA DONOVAN: How do you think this confusion arose?

NICK SULLIVAN: I think very plainly the issue arose over the rooming arrangements, the original schedule which just showed that we needed to make sure that we don’t have mixed gender rooms.

And changing things around showed that very plainly we were going to end up with five females and two males in one apartment with two very small bathrooms.

We want to know where you stand so we’re taking a poll: legitimate Olympic concern or FIRST WORLD PROBLEM.

Tell us what you think…

[and Russell and Lauryn may want to take a look at Mia Freedman's Wussbag column here. Just a thought.]

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