Olympic Highlights 08/07/2022
IOC ACTIVITIES
PRESIDENT
On 8 July, the IOC learned with great sadness of the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. IOC President Thomas Bach said: “Japan has lost a great statesman, and the IOC has lost a valiant supporter and a dear friend of the Olympic Movement. On behalf of the International Olympic Committee, I would like to extend my most sincere condolences to his family, his friends and the Japanese people.
“Abe Shinzo was a man with a vision, full of determination and boundless energy to make his vision come true. What I appreciated most about him was that he was a man of his word. “Only his vision, determination and dependability allowed us to take the unprecedented decision to postpone the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Without Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, these Olympic Games would never have happened, and the Olympic dream of athletes from all around the world would not have come true. He also wanted to be with us at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, to show his commitment to the Olympic Movement and the trustful partnership and friendship which developed over time.” The IOC President concluded: “The entire Olympic Movement and I owe him all our respect and gratitude. This is why we will forever hold Abe Shinzo in great honour.” As a mark of the IOC’s high esteem, the Olympic flag will be flown at half-mast at Olympic House in Lausanne for three days.
“Abe Shinzo was a man with a vision, full of determination and boundless energy to make his vision come true. What I appreciated most about him was that he was a man of his word. “Only his vision, determination and dependability allowed us to take the unprecedented decision to postpone the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Without Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, these Olympic Games would never have happened, and the Olympic dream of athletes from all around the world would not have come true. He also wanted to be with us at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, to show his commitment to the Olympic Movement and the trustful partnership and friendship which developed over time.” The IOC President concluded: “The entire Olympic Movement and I owe him all our respect and gratitude. This is why we will forever hold Abe Shinzo in great honour.” As a mark of the IOC’s high esteem, the Olympic flag will be flown at half-mast at Olympic House in Lausanne for three days.
During a ceremony held at The Olympic Museum, President Bach presented the gold medals from the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 to Aaron Armstrong, Keston Bledman, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender and Richard Thompson, the men’s 4x100m relay team from Trinidad and Tobago. The ceremony was attended by the athletes’ families and the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, Diane Henderson. Thompson described the team’s emotions on receiving the medals: “I am very excited and relieved at the same time. This has been a long time coming. We should have originally won these medals 14 years ago, but the circumstances were beyond our control. We are happy that the IOC acted with immediacy and all the relevant bodies continued to do everything they could for the integrity of the sport and the Olympics in general.” Addressing the athletes, President Bach said: “Now you can feel the pure joy and satisfaction. You have the final confirmation that you won this Olympic final, that you won this Olympic race, that you won this Olympic gold medal by being clean and fair athletes and by being role models, not only for the young generation in Trinidad and Tobago, but for the athletes around the world.” Full news release here. The day after the ceremony, the athletes signed the Olympians Wall at Olympic House before being presented with their diplomas and OLY insignia by the IOC President.
On the same occasion, Richard Thompson’s wife, sprinter Monique Cabral who was part of the women’s 4x100m team relay for Trinidad and Tobago, also signed the Olympians Wall and was presented with her diploma and OLY insignia.
President Bach welcomed a delegation from the British Olympic Association, led by its Chair, Hugh Robertson. Together, they discussed the upcoming editions of the Olympic Games, the preparations of the British athletes for the Games and the current international situation.
A delegation from the NOC of El Salvador, led by its President José Armando Bruni Ochoa, was welcomed to Olympic House by the IOC President. Discussions focused on the situation of sport and sports development in the country, and the next Olympic Games.
In a phone conversation, President Bach spoke with Chinese NOC President and Sports Minister Gou Zhongwen about various Olympic topics and the international situation. IOC Vice-President Ser Miang Ng and IOC Members Yu Zaiqing and Li Lingwei also took part in the call.
At Olympic House, the IOC President met with International Basketball Federation (FIBA) President Hamane Niang and Secretary General Andreas Zagklis. The preparations for the basketball tournaments at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 were discussed.
President Bach also met the new President of the International Skating Union (ISU), Jae Youl Kim, whom he congratulated on his election at the ISU Congress in June. Topics discussed included the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024.
The Secretary of State, Head of the International Policy Bureau at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, Jakub Kumoch, paid a courtesy visit to Olympic House. He discussed the current international situation with President Bach.
The President met with Robbert de Kock, President and CEO of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI). The organisation’s excellent partnership with the IOC and the success of the NOC Competition Uniform Support Programme, first launched for Rio 2016, were among the topics addressed.
The IOC President held a video conference with Daniel Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Worldwide Olympic Partner Alibaba Group. Discussions focused on the excellent cooperation between the two organisations and Alibaba’s engagement with the Olympic Movement.
On Saturday 9 July, President Bach will follow part of the eighth stage of the Tour de France, from Col du Mollendruz to its arrival in Lausanne. He will be attending with the Director of the Tour, Christian Prudhomme, and the Mayor of Lausanne, Grégoire Junod.
OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS
With just over two years until breaking debuts at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the new five-part Breaking Life series documents its evolution from community artform to competitive sport, as told by B-Girls and B-Boys around the world. All episodes are available to watch worldwide from 7 July at Olympics.com. Read the full news release here.
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATIONS
SUMMER IFS
Following their approval by the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) respectively, the International Cycling Union (UCI) has published on its website the qualification systems for the cycling events of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, all cycling competitions will have the same number of male and female athletes in the lists of participants. Full news release here.
NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES
The Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and Pride House Tokyo have signed a comprehensive agreement to create an environment where everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or gender expression, can participate in sport equally, safely and securely in their own way, and to make maximum use of and contribute to the power of sport and athletes in creating such a society. Signed last month, this partnership agreement is a concrete measure taken following the JOC’s announcement in August 2021 of the "Tokyo 2020 D&I [Diversity and Inclusion] Action Plan", which aims to give rise to inclusive organisations where everyone can live as they wish, irrespective of race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, religion, nationality, age and other characteristics. It was influenced by the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, where there were more openly LGBTQ+ athletes than at any previous edition. Through this partnership, the JOC is looking to enhance LGBTQ+ understanding among sports personnel through training programmes; use sporting events, games and other occasions to promote and disseminate information; and carry out awareness-raising activities in collaboration with athletes and research of LGBTQ+ issues in the field of sport. More info at www.joc.or.jp.
Over 20,000 participants, including dozens of Olympians, celebrated Olympic Day 2022 at Kaunas Santaka Park. Organised by the Lithuanian NOC (LNOC), the Lithuanian Olympic Fund and Kaunas City Municipality, the 2022 edition involved more than 100 different free sports and entertainment activities for the city residents and guests. All the participants were greeted by LNOC President and IOC Member Daina Gudzinevičiūtė. This year, the symbolic Olympic flame was carried by six athletes from Kaunas, from Town Hall Square to the stage in Santaka Park. After a 500m run for children, the traditional 1,988m Lithuanian Olympic mile – the distance of which marks the re-establishment of the LNOC in 1988 – was run, followed by the 5 and 10km events. A record number of runners – around 2,000 – took part in the races. More info at www.ltok.lt.
ORGANISING COMMITTEES FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES
PARIS 2024
The Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 and the French Development Agency (AFD) announced at the end of June the winning projects in the second round of the “Impact 2024 International” call for projects. The announcement took place at the Oranie Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the day after the opening ceremony of the Mediterranean Games in Oran (Algeria). The 12 winning projects were announced at a roundtable on “the sports economy and its impacts on sustainable development”. A total of EUR 303,000 will be awarded to the various initiatives in Africa, which place an emphasis on gender equality, education, health and the inclusion of people with disabilities, in line with the shared priorities of Paris 2024 and the AFD for the legacy of the Games. Full news release here. In addition, Paris 2024 unveiled on 7 July the competition schedule for the Paralympic Games, which will be held from 28 August to 8 September 2024. 22 Para sports will be on the programme, with a total of 549 competitions spread across 269 sessions and 11 days of competition. Detailed info here.
RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS
To mark World Sports Press Day on 2 July, Mustapha Berraf, an IOC Member and President of the Association of the National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), delivered a message in which he underlined the importance of partnership with sports journalists. Read the full text here.