Olympic Highlights 10/10/2022
IOC ACTIVITIES
PRESIDENT
This week, IOC President Thomas Bach attended the IOC Youth Summit at Olympic House. The Summit brought together over 40 IOC Young Leaders – including 28 on-site – who have been provided with training, coaching and seed funding to establish social projects using sport to impact their local communities over the years ahead. An open dialogue between the IOC President and the Young Leaders ensued, allowing them to benefit from some strong words of advice on how best to make a difference in their communities. Addressing questions on how he deals with difficult situations, President Bach gave the Young Leaders the following advice: “Passion for sport and its values, this is what drives us all. You must lead by example. The most important is to stay true to your values and your principles. When you have to take decisions about your professional life, follow your passion!”
President Bach also joined the Young Leaders in thanking Morii Yoshihiro, CMO of Worldwide Olympic Partner Panasonic, the Young Leaders programme’s founding partner. “All the programmes you are doing would not have been possible without the commitment from our friends at Panasonic, who have accompanied this innovative programme since its very beginning. Thank you, Morii-san and everyone at Panasonic, for believing in the power of sport and in the power of youth.” Read the full news release here.
At Olympic House, the President received the President elect of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), Gene Sykes. They discussed topics of mutual interest, mainly the next editions of the Olympic Games and the preparations for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.
In a phone conversation, President Bach spoke with Chinese NOC President Gao Zhidan about various Olympic topics and the international situation. IOC Member Yu Zaiqing, present in Lausanne, took part in the call as well as IOC Members Li Lingwei and Zhang Hong who were online.
President Bach welcomed the President and the Secretary General of the Finnish Olympic Committee, Jan Vapaavuori and Taina Susiluoto respectively. Together, they discussed the, Finnish athletes’ preparations for the next Olympic Games and the current international situation.
The IOC President met the President of the International Skating Union (ISU), Jae-youl Kim,. Their discussions focused on the skating competitions at the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024 and Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
President Thomas Bach had also a meeting with IOC Member Yu Zaiqing. Various topical Olympic matters, including the next editions of the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, were addressed.
The President met with IOC Member Erick Thohir, to whom he expressed his condolences after the recent terrible stampede in a football stadium in Indonesia. The two men then discussed the contribution of sport amid the current global challenges such as the post-pandemic and the current situation in the world. Mr Thohir also presented a letter from Indonesian President Joko Widodo to the IOC President.
With IOC Member and five-time Olympic champion Martin Fourcade, the President discussed the preparations for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Fourcade is the Chair of the Paris 2024 Athletes’ Commission and a Board Member of Paris 2024 Organising Committee.
Also at Olympic House, the IOC President met Tatiana Valovaya, the Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva. They discussed the close links between their two organisations and the current international situation.
President Bach hosted a delegation from NBC Universal led by Pete Bevacqua, NBC Sports Group Chairman and Gary Zenkel, NBC Olympics Production Chairman. Together, they emphasised the excellent partnership between their organisations while NBC also shared key strategic initiatives for collaboration.
On the occasion of the IOC Youth Summit, President Bach greeted Morii Yoshihiro, CMO of Worldwide Olympic Partner Panasonic, which has supported the IOC Young Leaders programme since 2017. They also discussed the excellent cooperation between the two organisations and Panasonic’s commitment to the values of the Olympic Movement.
Also this week, the IOC President joined the IOC Press Committee during its annual meeting at Olympic House. The President gave the Committee members an update on the next editions of the Olympic Games. The Press Committee is made up of key members of the international sports and news media, including news agencies and newspapers as well as representatives of the wider media industry, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), NOCs and IFs (see also under ‘Other Olympic News’).
The President also spoke with Christian Wacker, President of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH). Museum manager and developer, Wacker has taught at various universities and published many books and papers on the subjects of sports history and archaeology.
President Bach met Michael Mronz, General Manager of Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein e.V., the organisers of the International Equestrian Event, CHIO Aachen (Germany).
On 7 October, the IOC President was at The Olympic Museum for the arrival of the first stage of the first Women’s Tour de Romandie cycling event. The stage also started at The Olympic Museum.
OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS
The Olympic Studies Centre (OSC) celebrated its 40th anniversary at its facilities in the Villa du Centenaire, next to The Olympic Museum, in the presence of the IOC President, IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper and many distinguished guests. The event was broadcast live and was followed by the broader academic community of Olympic scholars and university-based Olympic Studies and Research Centres. As the home of Olympic knowledge, the OSC collects and shares accurate and relevant information, knowledge and literature about the Olympic Movement and facilitates research, education and studies on all historical, cultural and social aspects of the Olympic Movement. Find out more about the event and the OSC here.
On 6 October, the annual meeting of the IOC Press Committee took place for the first time at Olympic House. The Press Committee plays an important role in ensuring that media operations at the Olympic Games continuously evolve and adjust to the needs of the media industry, including when it comes to the ever-changing technology needs. During their meeting, the Committee members received a debrief report on press operations from Beijing 2022, and then discussed key findings from the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Games. Progress reports on the plans for press operations from the Organising Committees of Paris 2024 and Milano Cortina 2026 were also given. Other topics that were discussed included the IOC Young Reporters Programme, gender equality and the Olympic Information Service. Presentations were also given on the IOC’s Digital Strategy and the Olympic Qualifier Series.
On 5 October, the IOC announced that Timo Lumme, Managing Director of IOC Television & Marketing Services (IOC TMS), has decided to retire at the end of the year. Anne-Sophie Voumard has been appointed to succeed him as of 1 January 2023. Ms Voumard has been with the IOC for 13 years, working as Vice President, Broadcast & Media Rights at IOC TMS at Mr Lumme’s side. The IOC will continue to benefit from his expertise as a senior advisor. Read the full news release here.
The IOC has released the Olympic Solidarity and NOC Services Annual Report 2021, highlighting how much solidarity is at the heart of the Olympic Movement and the actions of the 206 NOCs. The report outlines the global picture of the support provided by Olympic Solidarity to the NOCs in order to help them send their athletes to the Olympic Games and promote the Olympic values across world. Read the full news release here.
Peter Ueberroth (l. on photo), who led the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Organising Committee (LAOOC), was honoured with a plaque in the Court of Honour of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on 3 October. The plaque was to commemorate his achievement in leading the delivery of those Games, which left a tremendous legacy to sport in the US and to the Olympic Movement. IOC Member Anita DeFrantz, one of three LAOOC Vice Presidents for Olympic Villages during the LA84 Games, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Olympic champions Edwin Moses and Benita Fitzgerald Mosley were also present at the ceremony, as was Paralympic Games multi-gold medalist Candace Cable.
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATIONS
SUMMER IFS
Just two months after the successful FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2022, which featured a record 51 teams from 29 different countries, Sport Singapore and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) have announced that Singapore will continue to be home of this event in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Full info here.
Promoting cross-collaboration with the sporting world is a top priority for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). This is why, for the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in Chengdu (People’s Republic of China), the ITTF extended a credential to Brian Carrer, International University Sports Federation (FISU) Games Summer Event Manager. Chengdu was awarded the rights to host the FISU World University Games in 2019, before the event was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic to July-August 2023. By welcoming FISU, the ITTF is hoping the experience can be used to ensure that international sport can continue to thrive in China. Full details here. In addition, ITTF President Petra Sörling has appointed Liu Guoliang as ITTF Deputy President. The President of the Chinese Table Tennis Association since 2018, he was elected to the ITTF Executive Committee in 2021. As a player and head coach of the Chinese men’s team, Mr Liu has won all the major titles among which two Olympic gold medals. More info here.
NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES
The Georgian NOC has announced that Rafael Chimishkyan (photo), the first-ever Olympic champion from Georgia, has died at the age of 93. Chimishkyan made his mark on Georgian Olympic history 70 years ago at the Olympic Games in Helsinki, where he won a gold medal in weightlifting. He also won two world and six European championship titles and broke 11 world records. He was named the Best Georgian Weightlifter of the 20th Century and made an honorary citizen of Tbilisi. More info at www.geonoc.org.ge.
The NOC of Israel has informed us that, during his recent visit to Israel, the IOC President signed the NOC’s Charter for Gender Equality. The event took place in the presence of NOC President Yael Arad and NOC Gender Equality Chair Suzy Yogev, as well as NOC Board members and sports officials. Written and signed on Olympic Day 2018, the Charter demonstrates a commitment to promoting gender equality in sport and a sense of responsibility for shaping the image of sport in Israel. More info at www.olympicsil.co.il.
To celebrate the 2022 European Week of Sport, the Kosovo NOC hosted the “Sport Forum” Conference in Pristina. The conference started with a minute’s silence in honour of Belul Beqaj, one of the NOC’s founders, who passed away recently. The 2022 edition of the Week was organised by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. The conference featured panels addressing the following topics: “Impact of the European Week of Sport over the years” and “Involvement, motivation and volunteering among young people in sports activities”. The participants included representatives from the NOC, the Ministry, sports federations, the Kosovo National Paralympic Committee and volunteers. More details here.
The Spanish NOC and the Gasol Foundation have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to promote healthy living through the Olympic Movement in Spain. The mission of the Foundation – set up by the Gasol brothers, IOC Member Pau and Marc – is to prevent childhood obesity. Cristina Ribes, Executive Director of the Gasol Foundation Europe, and NOC President Alejandro Blanco signed the three-year agreement during the European Week of Sport (photo). It will help sports entities or events that want to obtain the NOC’s sustainable PLUS label to work with the Gasol Foundation through collaborative action. The PLUS label recognises commitment to social, economic and environmental sustainability in sport. More info here.
ORGANISING COMMITTEES FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES
PARIS 2024
On 5 October, the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 unveiled the routes for the Olympic marathon and the two races – a 42.195 km course and a 10km course – open to the general public as part of Mass Event Running. The route for the Olympic marathon has historical connections, following in the footsteps of the Women's March of 1789, which shaped the history and values of contemporary France. It will showcase cultural and architectural heritage sites across the French capital, and the unique landscapes of Ile-de-France. These will include the likes of the Louvre, Place de la Concorde, Grand Palais, Château de Versailles and the Eiffel Tower. The announcement was made in the presence of Tony Estanguet, the President of Paris 2024; Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris; Valérie Pécresse, the President of the Ile-de-France Regional Council; Paula Radcliffe, the women's marathon world record-holder between 2003 and 2017; and Yohan Durand, a member of the French marathon team. Full news release here. For more info about the marathon route, visit Paris2024.org.
RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has announced the 12 research projects funded as part of its 2022 Social Science Research Grant Programme. These projects were approved by WADA’s Executive Committee in May 2022. A total of 65 applications and Expressions of Interest were received, meaning just over one in five applications were successful. Full details here.