Olympic Highlights 07/11/2022
IOC ACTIVITIES
PRESIDENT
IOC President Thomas Bach was in Liverpool (Great Britain) on Friday 4 November for the 51st FIG World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
Welcomed by the President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and IOC Member, Watanabe Morinari, he was joined in the hall by Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci, who is a member of the IOC's Athletes’ Entourage Commission.
The President met athletes before and after the evening competition, where he presented the gold medal to the newly crowned men's all-around world champion, Hashimoto Daiki from Japan.
Earlier, he met the Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, and they discussed the hosting of international sporting events in the city.
The day before, the President joined IOC Member Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal at a British Olympic Association (BOA) dinner in London, hosted by BOA Chairman Sir Hugh Robertson.
A number of Olympic champions were present at the dinner, including the British women's curling team, who were victorious at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Also there were Team GB swimmer Tom Dean, a double gold medallist at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and weightlifter Emily Campbell, a silver medallist also at Tokyo 2020.
President Bach met the President of the European Union of Football Associations (UEFA), Aleksander Čeferin, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon (Switzerland). They discussed various current Olympic topics and the European sports model.
At Olympic House, the IOC President met the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Witold Bańka, who was accompanied by WADA Director General Olivier Niggli. They discussed the excellent collaboration between their organisations to strengthen the fight against doping in the coming years. The President was accompanied by IOC Member Uğur Erdener, who is also Chairman of the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission.
The IOC President also discussed a number of current Olympic issues with IOC Members Uğur Erdener and Hong Zhang, who also chairs the IOC Coordination Commission for the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024.
President Bach attended the premiere of “The Swimmers”, at the Pathé Flon cinema in Lausanne. The film tells the extraordinary journey of Yusra Mardini – a member of the first IOC Refugee Olympic Team – from war-torn Syria to the Olympic Games Rio 2016. The IOC President was accompanied by athlete members of the Refugee Olympic Team, Ahmad Badreddin Wais (cycling), Habtom Amaniel (athletics), Luna Solomon (shooting) and Seyed Ehsan Naghibzadeh (taekwondo), and by Mardini’s former coach, Sven Spannekrebs. Together, they presented the certificate of the 2022 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports from the Princess of Asturias Foundation, which the Refugee Olympic Team recently received alongside the Olympic Refuge Foundation.
The President also met Alain Lunzenfichter, former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of French sports daily “L'Équipe”. They talked about the forthcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the World Association of Olympic Journalists, of which Lunzenfichter is the Honorary President.
In a video message, the IOC President addressed the participants at the Gender Equity Seminar organised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in Bahrain. In his speech, the President said that sports organisations have a responsibility to advance gender equality, diversity and inclusion, leading by example and making the world a better place. More details here.
Before travelling to Great Britain, the IOC President was presented with the International Hockey Federation (FIH)'s President’s Award for Peace and Friendship. It was given to him by the acting FIH President, Seif Ahmed. The citation for the award praises President Bach for: “his exemplary forthrightness, dedication and determination to bring the world together through sport”. Read the full news release here.
OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS
Following an exciting and varied 30-year career at the IOC, Pere Miró, who was Director of Olympic Solidarity during a key period in its history, spoke to the Olympic Review about how the programme has grown from humble beginnings to become a cornerstone of the Olympic Movement. Read his thoughts here.
The effective delivery of infrastructure and associated services for the Olympic Games was the focus of two dedicated webinars at the end of October. The virtual sessions brought together experts from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the IOC, the Organising Committees of Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026 and LA 2028, and public authorities. The combination of infrastructure and procurement, two complex and high-risk areas, exposes major sporting events to a range of threats to effective, transparent and accountable delivery. To support OCOGs in addressing these threats, the IOC and the OECD are in the process of developing actionable guidelines which would cover critical dimensions in the effective delivery of sports infrastructure and associated services. The webinars, organised jointly by the two organisations, served to discuss the draft findings from the IOC-OECD project, and establish solutions to identified challenges which will be reflected in the guidelines. More details here.
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATIONS
SUMMER IFS
World Athletics has announced its inaugural group of “Champions for a Better World” to lend their voices to sustainability campaigning within the sport. Under the organisation’s Athletics for a Better World initiative, the nine Champions for a Better World will advocate for more sustainable practices across athletics and encourage other athletes to take a more active role in addressing their environmental concerns. Full info here.
The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) have published the International Basketball Migration Report 2022, along with the second edition of the Evolution Report, which covers the seasons from 2016-17 to 2021-22. FIBA's knowledge and data on international transfers have been combined with the CIES Sports Observatory's renowned analytical expertise to document the international migration of players for this season, plus the migratory trends and tendencies of the sport across the globe. More info here.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has revealed the list of UCI World Championships that are open for bidding, and the hosts of which will be announced at the next UCI Congress, in August 2023. More info on the candidature process and all the relevant documents here.
During the 51st World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and British Gymnastics jointly hosted the Safe Sport Journey Symposium. Leaders, coaches and gymnasts from all over the world took part to discuss the topic of safeguarding. The Symposium reflected the organisations’ shared commitment to ensuring that gymnasts’ welfare is paramount. Full details here.
The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) has launched its Athlete-Centred Programme (ACP). The goal of the latest addition to the UIPM’s online platform is to support the global UIPM athlete community and provide them with a space where all athlete-related resources and opportunities can be easily found. Athletes who register will find informative and engaging content on the platform. The ACP now sits alongside the Coaches Certification Programme (CCP) and Judges Certification Programme (JCP). Full details here.
WINTER IFS
The World Curling Federation (WCF) has announced that the Polish Curling Clubs Federation has officially become its 70th member association, following the conclusion of the appeal from the Polish Curling Association over its expulsion from the WCF. The Polish Curling Clubs Federation joins the WCF as a provisional member. Full info here.
RECOGNISED IFS
The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) has announced that the IWWF World Waterski Championships will once again be held in Lake County, Florida, in 2023. The biennial event was last held in Lake County in 2021. More than 200 water skiers representing 35 countries are expected to compete from 8 to 15 October 2023. More info here.
NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES
As part of its Olympic education programme, the Argentinean NOC publishes teaching material such as its Olympic Education Guides (1 and 2), which are updated periodically, especially in post-Olympic years. This year, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Argentinean Olympic Academy, the NOC has produced the latest version of the Olympic Education Guide 2, in Spanish and English. Anyone can access and make use of the Guide. Full details here.
The NOC of the Dominican Republic hosted the first workshop for the local sporting press, organised by the national sailing federation (Fedovela). The aim was to inform the participants about the various technical aspects of the sport. Fedovela President Félix Payano talked about the history of sailing in the country and shared various athlete stories and experiences. More details here.
The British Olympic Association (BOA) has announced that Team GB medallists from the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 were invited to Buckingham Palace on 2 November for a reception hosted by Their Majesties the King and the Queen Consort. Alongside their Paralympics GB peers, over 80 Team GB athletes met the King, the Queen Consort, The Princess Royal, who is also an IOC Member, and The Earl of Wessex. More details here.
Wilson Kiprugut (centre), the first Kenyan to win an Olympic medal, died on 1 November at the age of 84. He received a recognition award from the Kenyan NOC last year. At the 1964 Games in Tokyo, he became the first Kenyan to win an Olympic medal by taking bronze in the 800 metres. At the inaugural All-Africa Games the following year, he captured the 400 and 800 metre titles. At the Olympic Games Mexico City 1968, he won silver in the 800 metres. He retired from active competition in 1969 and remained with the army as a fitness instructor until 1974. He later ran a farm near his home town of Kericho.
For the fourth year in a row, the NOC of Lithuania (LNOC) invited Lithuanian primary school children to take part in the Olympic Month project, which lasted throughout the month of October. In total, as many as 2,700 primary school classes, i.e. more than 50,000 primary school children across Lithuania, exercised with 22 Olympians and athletes, learned the basics of healthy eating and cooked their own healthy meals with famous chefs and nutritionists, learnt cooperation methods from Lithuanian sports teams, and broadened their knowledge of emotional health. The project is under the patronage of the country's First Lady, Diana Nausėdienė. The organisers are the LNOC, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, and the Ministry of Health. More info here at www.ltok.lt.
Olympic champion Alberto Fernández and his coach, Diego Gutiérrez, recently presented their book entitled “Olympic Spirit”, at a ceremony held at the Spanish NOC headquarters. In the book, the authors explain how to develop a winning mentality, achieve optimum performance and be happy in both sport and life generally. Also present at the ceremony was NOC President Alejandro Blanco, who wrote a preface for the book, various athletes and the authors’ close family members and friends. More details here.
RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS
The President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), IOC Member Mustapha Berraf, was present for the signing of the hosting agreement for the 2nd African Beach Games, which will be held in Hammamet, Tunisia, from 24 to 30 June 2023. The document was signed by the Tunisian Minister of Youth and Sports, Kamel Deguiche, the ANOCA President and the President of the Tunisian NOC, Mehrez Boussayene. The ceremony took place at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and was followed an inspection tour of the selected Games venues. The Yasmine Hammamet resort will play host to over 1,000 participants representing the 54 ANOCA member countries. For a number of disciplines, the African Beach Games will serve as a qualifier for the World Beach Games, which are scheduled for early August 2023 in Bali, Indonesia. Full details here.
During its last meeting of the year, held on 2 November 2022, the Council of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) discussed a number of important topics, including the methodology for the next IF governance assessment, preparations for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028, and the creation of a new Sustainability Consultative Group. More details here.
On 26 October, UNICEF Jordan and Generations For Peace (GFP) launched the Sawn Programme for Youth Climate Action, in partnership with the Jordanian Ministry of Youth, the Environment Ministry and Nahno (National Youth Engagement and Volunteering Programme), and in conjunction with the conclusion of the second Local Conference of Youth on Climate Change. Sawn (Preservation), the first programme of its kind in Jordan, aims to raise young people’s awareness about local and global climate and environmental issues, and enhance their participation in and contribution to mitigating the effects of climate change. During the event, young people presented the recommendations from the Conference, and four of the participants were nominated to take part in the COP27 in Egypt next month. More details here.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has announced that its Global Learning Development Framework (GLDF) initiative, which was started in April 2020, has moved into its next phase with a kick-off meeting of the European Union (EU) Erasmus+-funded GLDF4CleanSport project on 18 and 19 October. The meeting, which was hosted by the Austrian National Anti-Doping Agency in Vienna, was led by the European Observatoire of Sport and Employment (EOSE), which is leading the project. The GLDF initiative supports the “Grow Impact” priority of WADA’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan, which calls on WADA to “develop training programmes and qualification standards for anti-doping professionals to improve professionalism and enhance the capabilities of the anti-doping workforce”. Full details here. In addition, WADA has announced that its 2023 Annual Symposium will be held on 14 and 15 March 2023 at the SwissTech Convention Centre in Lausanne. More info here. Finally, the WADA has published its Independent Observer team report regarding the anti-doping program of the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, which were held from 4-13 March 2022. Info here.