Olympic Highlights 05/09/2022
IOC ACTIVITIES
PRESIDENT
On 1 September at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam (the Netherlands), IOC President Thomas Bach attended the premiere of Ankie - The Olympic Widow, a very emotional and moving documentary on the attack on the Israeli Olympic team at Munich 1972 and Ankie Spitzer, the widow of fencing coach Andre Spitzer. He was among the 11 Israeli victims of the attack during the Games.
The IOC President was accompanied by Israeli NOC President Yael Arad. At the Olympic Stadium, they were welcomed by Dutch NOC President Anneke van Zanen-Nieberg and joined by Ankie Spitzer and her daughter, Anouk. The two-part film was produced by a Dutch public television team.
The IOC President met King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, who is an IOC honorary member, at the Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague. The two men discussed the upcoming Olympic Games and other topics of mutual interest.
While in Amsterdam, President Bach also met the Dutch NOC President Anneke van Zanen-Nieberg. Together, they talked about topics of mutual interest, including the preparations of the Dutch athletes for the upcoming editions of the Olympic Games.
President Bach held a telephone conversation with Cai Qi, the President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, on Monday 29 August. The two men discussed the Games’ success in terms of organisation, participation, TV coverage, sustainability and legacy.
The IOC President also discussed a range of Olympic topics with IOC member Kirsty Coventry, who chairs the Coordination Commissions for the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 and the Olympic Games Brisbane 2032, and the Games Optimisation Group.
At Olympic House, President Bach discussed a number of topical Olympic issues with IOC member Octavian Morariu, who also chairs the Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games.
The President also hosted IOC member and International Gymnastics Federation President Watanabe Morinari, to discuss various Olympic topics including the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
This week, President Bach telephoned IOC honorary member Franco Carraro, to discuss the current situation in Italy.
At Olympic House, the IOC President hosted the former Councillor of State of the Canton of Vaud, Philippe Leuba. The two men discussed the excellent relations between the Olympic Capital, the Canton and the IOC.
President Bach also hosted a lunch for the family and closest colleague of former IOC Director General François Carrard, who died in January this year. Thomas Bach welcomed Mr Carrard’s widow Alba, his daughters Maud and Anne, and his closest colleague, Jean-Philippe Rochat to the lunch.
COMMISSIONS
The Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 are “right on track” – that was the message delivered by the IOC Coordination Commission this week following a visit to the French capital. Optimisations to Games delivery, meticulous budgetary planning and increasing engagement were highlighted as key to advancing Games preparations. During the meetings, the Coordination Commission, chaired by Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, received an insight into the growing sense of anticipation in France, boosted by the launch of Paris 2024’s slogan – “Games wide open”. Increasing interest in Paris 2024’s engagement programmes reflects this excitement. Club Paris 2024 now has over 800,000 members, while Terre de Jeux 2024 includes more than 3,200 community projects, reaching more than 33 million people across the country. Updates on Paris 2024’s extensive sustainability strategy, aimed at delivering climate-positive Games, were also provided. Read the full news release here.
Other Olympic news
Indian javelin thrower and Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra gifted his javelin from Tokyo 2020 to The Olympic Museum in Lausanne. In what was an iconic moment for Indian sports fans, India’s only other individual Olympic gold medallist – shooter Abhinav Bindra – was also present for the occasion. India’s two individual gold medallists then visited the Olympic Museum exhibitions together, and did a live social media interaction with fans from around the world. They were joined by yet another Indian Olympian – former tennis player Manisha Malhotra, who represented India at Sydney 2000. Full news release here.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Olympic Games Munich 1972, “72 – A Gathering of Champions”, was released. This emotive four-part series, produced by the Olympic Channel and directed by Emmy award-winner Jonathan Hock, revisits the event with the Olympians who experienced first-hand both personal triumphs and unimaginable tragedy, as they return to Munich. Full news release here.
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATIONS
SUMMER IFS
The President of the International Canoe Federation (ICF), Thomas Konietzko, has announced that the ICF will actively pursue more opportunities for an increased presence at major international multi-sport events. The ICF has applied to be included in the next edition of the Commonwealth Games, scheduled to take place in Victoria, Australia, in 2026, and has begun negotiations with the next Mediterranean Games hosts, Italy. Info at www.canoeicf.com.
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) and the German Swimming Federation have announced that Berlin will host the FINA Diving World Cup from 20 to 23 October. The German capital will be the heartbeat of aquatics sport, as the city will also be hosting the FINA Swimming World Cup series opener, with the latter running from 21 to 23 October. More info here.
The Executive Committee of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has chosen Amman, Jordan, to host the inaugural ITTF Summit from 4 to 6 December 2022. After two years marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summit will bring together the table tennis family to shape the future of the sport. Planned events include the 2022 ITTF Annual General Meeting. Full details here.
NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES
More than 50 young judokas from Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic are taking part in an international judo camp being held from 29 August to 6 September at the “Albergue Olímpico” in Santo Domingo. With the support of Panam Sports, the Pan-American Judo Confederation and the Dominican Judo Federation, the aim of the camp is to identify talented young athletes who could take part in the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028. More details here on the Dominican Republic NOC’s website.
Between 25 and 28 August in Rabat, the Moroccan NOC held the fifth and final module of its training course for high-level coaches. A total of 31 national coaches from various national federations took part, with presentations on dietary aspects of performance, evaluating projects and optimising performance projects. The participants were subsequently awarded their course certificates after presenting their sports projects to a jury composed of experts. More details here.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, visited the NOC of Portugal and took part in a panel discussion with six Portuguese female Olympians: Patrícia Mamona (athletics), Telma Monteiro (judo), Lorene Bazolo (athletics), Tamila Holub (swimming), Maria Caetano (equestrian) and Diana Gomes (swimming), who chairs the NOC’s Athletes' Commission. The topics covered included gender equality, inclusion and diversity. Earlier, Metsola met NOC President José Manuel Constantino, alongside NOC Secretary General José Manuel Araújo, NOC General Director João Paulo Almeida, the Director of the NOC Department of Studies and Projects, Cristina Almeida, and Diana Gomes. The meeting concluded with Metsola signing of the NOC’s Book of Honour. More details here.
RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) played an important role during the 2nd annual International Anti-Doping Symposium, which was hosted in hybrid format on 25 and 26 August by the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA). The event was commissioned and supported by CHINADA and co-organised by the anti-doping branch of the China Sport Science Society. Under the theme “Science and Technology: Innovate to Raise the Game for Clean Sport”, this year’s event attracted nearly 1,200 participants from the region and beyond, and its agenda focused on how scientific and technological research and progress are strengthening the protection of clean sport around the world. Full details here. In addition, WADA has released a new education course entitled “Privacy and Information Security Awareness for Athletes”, available on the Agency’s Anti-Doping Education and Learning Platform (ADEL). Full details here.