Olympic Highlights 03/07/2023
IOC
PRESIDENT
Before competing at Athletissima, the traditional Lausanne track-and-field meeting on the Diamond League circuit, more than a dozen Olympians were welcomed to Olympic House on 29 June by IOC President and Olympic champion Thomas Bach. All of the athletes were presented with their with OLY diploma and pin by President Bach upon signing the Olympians Wall. He also spoke with them and heard their views before wishing them good luck on their journey to the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Later in the evening, President Bach watched some of the world’s best female high jumpers compete in the Athletissima City Event held at Place Centrale in the heart of Lausanne, where Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers won with a personal best of 2.02 m, the world’s best performance of the year. The following day, the athlete, a silver medallist at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, was at Olympic House, where the President presented her with an OLY diploma and pin. On Friday 30 June, the President was at the Stade Olympique in Lausanne for the Diamond League meeting.
In conjunction with the meeting of the IOC’s Coordination Commission for Brisbane 2032 held at Olympic House, President Bach met the President of the Brisbane 2032 Board, Andrew Liveris and Brisbane 2032 CEO Cindy Hook. A meeting was also held with the President of the Australian Olympic Committee, Ian Chesterman. IOC Vice-President and Brisbane 2032 Vice-President John Coates and IOC Member and Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for Brisbane 2032 Kirsty Coventry were present. The discussions focused on the preparations for the Olympic Games Brisbane 2032 and the excellent collaboration between all the partners.
The IOC President also attended a meeting of the IOC’s Games Optimisation Group chaired by Kirsty Coventry. The group aims to analyse further opportunities to foster sustainable Games and enhance Games delivery.
President Bach had a telephone conversation this week with Chinese NOC President Gao Zhidan. They discussed a number of Olympic topics, including the preparations of Chinese athletes for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The leading role of China in the Olympic Movement and its role as the host of many upcoming major international sports events, such as the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September, were also mentioned.
The IOC President attended the ceremony to mark the fifth anniversary of the International Testing Agency (ITA) and the housewarming celebration for its new offices, in the presence of ITA Board Chair Valérie Fourneyron and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President, Witold Bańka. In his speech, he recalled: “In creating the ITA, we wanted to avoid even the perception of a conflict of interest when it comes to the important topic of anti-doping testing,” before adding that “the importance of an independent system is widely acknowledged and appreciated today by the sporting community. Starting with just 20 sports federations five years ago, there are now over 60 sports organisations and federations that have signed up with the ITA. This growth is quite remarkable, because it shows how quickly the ITA has established itself as a trusted partner to the sports community at large.” He concluded by encouraging “all those federations and organisations that have not already done so to delegate their testing programmes to the ITA – in their own interest and in the interest of their athletes.”
Addressing via video conference the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), meeting in Madrid, Spain, the IOC President highlighted the long-term broadcasting partnership and the key role that the EBU and its members play in uniting everyone around the Olympic values by sharing the magic of Olympic Games with their audiences. He also underlined that “through the revenue we generate from our long-standing media partnerships, you are also supporting all the stakeholders of the Olympic Movement.”
Also this week, President Bach addressed the members of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) Board for their bi-annual meeting held at Olympic House. He stressed the organisation’s excellent partnership with the IOC and the success of the NOC Competition Uniform Support Programme. On this occasion, the IOC President, WFSGI President and CEO Robbert de Kock and Andy Rubin, Chair of the WFSGI Board, signed a framework agreement to continue and strengthen their collaboration with a view to achieving common goals.
The IOC will continue its cooperation with ANTA. IOC President Thomas Bach and James Zheng, Executive Director of ANTA Sports Products Ltd, met at Olympic House on Wednesday 28 June and committed to continuing their partnership to ensure the successful delivery of various uniform projects. ANTA Sports Products Limited, which was established in 1991, is one of the leading sportswear companies in China, and also operates brands such as Descente, FILA, Kolon Sport and Amer. The latter includes Salomon, Wilson, Peak Performance and Atomic. ANTA has been the official sports apparel partner of the Chinese Olympic Committee since 2009. The company has provided IOC Members and staff with sports apparel uniforms since 2019, including for the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020, the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, and also for the IOC administration’s needs in Lausanne. ANTA also provided uniforms for the IOC Members at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
Also this week, the President met around 15 members of the media accredited for Athletissima who visited Olympic House. He spoke with them about several current Olympic topics.
President Bach and Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) President Francesco Ricci Bitti discussed the preparations for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
At Olympic House, the IOC President welcomed Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Group Chairman of beIN Media Group, with whom he discussed several topics of mutual interest.
Meetings were also held with IOC Vice-President John Coates, and IOC Members Kirsty Coventry and Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who also chairs the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad. A wide range of current Olympic issues were discussed.
MEMBERS
IOC Executive Board member Kristin Kloster will become the new Chair of the Coordination Commission for the XXV Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Mrs Kloster was appointed by IOC President Thomas Bach, and will take over from IOC Member Sari Essayah, who resigned from this position following her appointment as a minister in the new Finnish government.
IOC Member Danka Barteková, who chaired the Coordination Commission for the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020, will replace IOC Member Gunilla Lindberg as a member of the Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games. Mrs Lindberg resigned from her position following the decision by the Swedish Olympic Committee to enter into a Continuous Dialogue with the IOC about hosting a future edition of the Olympic Winter Games in Sweden. Read the full news release here.
COMMISSIONS
At their inaugural meeting with the IOC’s Coordination Commission for Brisbane 2032, Organising Committee representatives provided an update on the progress of their preparations, while the IOC highlighted that they are the perfect partners for its optimisation efforts to define the future evolution of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The meeting was led by IOC Coordination Commission Chair Kirsty Coventry and the President of the Brisbane 2032 Board, Andrew Liveris AO, from Olympic House, with the rest of the members joining remotely. The meeting focused on the success and progress of the past two years since the Olympic and Paralympic Games were awarded to Brisbane, with the Organising Committee highlighting the multitude of opportunities and optimism surrounding these Games. Read the full news release here.
OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS
The IOC has further underscored its commitment to encouraging healthy and active lifestyles through its support for the Global Alliance for the Promotion of Physical Activity, enshrined in the Hamburg Declaration, of which the IOC is one of over 100 signatories. The Global Alliance was renewed during the Sports, Medicine and Health Summit, which was held in Hamburg from 22 to 24 June 2023. The signature of the Hamburg Declaration has also been endorsed by the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission, chaired by Professor Uğur Erdener, which in 2022 created a Physical Activity and Population Health working group. Full details here.
The Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) has made its 2022 Annual Activity Report available and is highlighting its work to create a society where everyone belongs, through sport. To learn more about the ORF’s achievements in 2022, click here.
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATIONS
SUMMER IFS
International Tennis Federation (ITF)
The Tory Burch Foundation and ITF have named Trisha Goyal (photo), creator of Break The Love, as the first Tory Burch Sports Fellowship founder. Break The Love was launched to help people play tennis during the pandemic and aims to provide a one-stop shop for players and “drop-in” tennis clubs. Empowered by the ITF Advantage All gender equality programme, the Tory Burch Sports Fellowship rewards female sports entrepreneurs who seek solutions to global challenges in the sports sector. Full details here.
World Rowing
Nearly 700 rowers from 52 nations will be competing from 7 to 9 July in Lucerne, Switzerland, at the third and final regatta of the 2023 World Rowing Cup series. This will be the last major international racing opportunity for many nations before the 2023 World Rowing Championships in September, which will be the first opportunity to qualify for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. Full details here.
WINTER IFS
International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF)
The ISMF has announced the race calendar for the 2023/2024 competition season, which will see the world’s top ski mountaineering athletes performing at their best from November 2023 until April 2024. The race calendar includes a combination of classic stops and new additions to the international circuit. Full details here.
NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES
Argentinean NOC
From 26 to 30 June, the town of Rosario hosted a sports administration course for around 70 participants, most of them sports leaders. This course, which is part of the Olympic Solidarity programme, was organised jointly by the NOC and the Regional Centre for High-level Sport. As well as offering the chance for the participants to broaden their technical knowledge, the course provided insights into better management of sports institutions. Details onwww.coarg.org.ar.
Thailand NOC
The Olympic Day celebrations took place from 23 to 25 June in Mukdahan province, in north-eastern Thailand. The event was spearheaded by IOC Member KhunyingPatama Leeswadtrakul, who is also Chair of the IOC Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission, and by the NOC. On the programme were sport, culture and education activities such as 3x3 basketball, dance, and an exhibition around environmental protection and sustainability. A Fun Run was also organised by the NOC in collaboration with the NOCs of Laos and Vietnam. This run across the Mekong River (from the border of Thailand to Laos) brought together tens of thousands of participants from the three countries. This first-ever joint celebration has helped foster and strengthen relationships among the three neighbouring countries while also promoting tourism and the economy. An exhibition on culture and Thai clothing closed the celebrations.
RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS
International Committee for the Mediterranean Games (ICMG)
The ICMG Executive Committee took important decisions during its meeting in Heraklion, Crete (Greece), as part the visit by the Coordination Commission for the Mediterranean Beach Games Heraklion 2023. The most important decision was the unanimous acceptance of the ICMG’s agreement with the International Testing Agency (ITA) to conduct anti-doping controls at the Games, which will be taking place in Heraklion from 9 to 16 September. The Committee also approved the proposal by the Chair of the Women in Sports Commission, Elif Ozdemir, to hold a seminar in Antalya, Turkey, on “Women’s Empowerment”. The members of the evaluation commissions for the Mediterranean Beach Games 2027 and the Mediterranean Games 2030 were also named. All the decisions can be found here .
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
On 27 June, WADA published its 2022 Code Compliance Annual Report (Report). Full details here .