IOC President guest of honour as New York Athletic Club celebrates 150 years
President Bach was in New York on Monday to help celebrate 150 years of a remarkable institution. The New York Athletic Club was established in 1868, and since then members have won 271 Olympic medals between them: 151 gold, 54 silver and 66 bronze. In 2016, the Club sent 68 Olympians to the Olympic Games in Rio; 23 won medals (20 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze).
President Bach was speaking at a gala dinner in the presence of many famous Olympians, including long-jumper Bob Beamon, who won the gold medal in spectacular style at Mexico City 1968. The world record he set there stood for 23 years.
Also present was Herb Douglas, a 96-year-old Olympian who competed in London in 1948. He was joined by many other athletes, including a world champion wrestler recently crowned in Budapest earlier this month.
President Bach told the audience of past and present athletes: "The belief in the power of sport is just as relevant today as it was 150 years ago. It is a mission that we can only achieve in partnership. This is why we are privileged to have such dedicated partners like the New York Athletic Club on our side, who share our mission to spread the Olympic ideals of sport in the world today."
Earlier in the day, the President had addressed the United Nations “Group of Friends of Sport” at the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations in New York.
He told a large group of UN ambassadors representing countries from around the world of the IOC’s mission to put sport at the service of humanity. He told them the IOC could build bridges and promote peace only if it remained strictly politically neutral.