Olympic Highlights
IOC ACTIVITIES
PrEsident
Meeting in Lausanne from 18 to 20 July, the IOC Executive Board (EB) reviewed the next editions of the Olympic Games, the protection of the integrity of sport and the athletes and other institutional matters.
Concerning the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Yoshiro Mori, President of the Organising Committee; Toshiro Muto, CEO of the Organising Committee; and John Coates, Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, gave their respective updates on the latest activities. It was reported that Tokyo 2020 is continuing to achieve milestones on a timely basis, including on the construction of permanent and temporary venues as observed during the 6th Coordination Commission meeting. The EB approved the Olympic Games ticket prices as well as the Tokyo 2020 competition schedule by session. More info here.
Juan Antonio Samaranch, the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, presented his report on the latest activities. Following the recommendations of the Olympic Programme Commission, the EB approved the event and athlete quotas for the Beijing 2022 event programme. It includes the highest representation of female athletes at the Olympic Winter Games to date, with female quota positions increasing from 41 to 45.44 per cent, while reducing the overall athlete quota below the maximum number specified in the Olympic Charter. The programme features the addition of signature new events, with monobob and freestyle skiing big air, as well as dynamic mixed team formats including a short track mixed relay, ski jumping mixed team event, mixed gender team aerials and the snowboard cross mixed team event. More info here.
Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, presented a report on the preparations of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. He pointed out that Paris 2024 is off to a strong start, is working closely with the IOC, and is making overall good progress. Following the recommendation of the Olympic Programme Commission, the EB approved a two-phase timeline, as well as the process and principles for Paris 2024 to put forward new sports. More info here.
Juan Antonio Samaranch, Chair of the IOC Working Group 2026, gave an update on the candidature process for the Olympic Winter Games 2026, including a review of the five Interested Cities.
IOC Member Gerardo Werthein and Leandro Larrosa, CEO of the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (BAYOGOC), gave their respective updates on the latest preparations, while IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi presented a report on behalf of Li Lingwei, Interim Chair of the Coordination Commission. Construction of the Youth Olympic Centre and other venues is progressing according to schedule. The Youth Olympic flame will be lit in Athens on 24 July, and will allow BAYOGOC to share the Olympic spirit throughout Argentina over the course of two months, with city celebrations taking place in 17 provinces.
Christophe Dubi presented the progress report on behalf of Danka Bartekova, Chair of the Coordination Commission for the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020. He highlighted that construction of the Youth Olympic Village and the Ice Centre in Malley (Lausanne) is progressing according to schedule.
With regard to the Youth Olympic Games 2022, YOG Evaluation Commission Chair Uğur Erdener presented an overview of the selection process for this YOG edition. The EB approved the list of Candidate Parties for the Youth Olympic Games in Africa in 2022: Botswana, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia will all enter the Candidature Phase. More info here.
Concerning anti-doping activities, there was an update on the latest developments at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The EB was pleased to learn that, since its last meeting, the International Testing Agency (ITA) had now become fully operational. The EB also approved the reallocation of medals and diplomas for the editions of the Olympic Games of Beijing 2008 (4 events), London 2012 (13 events) and Rio 2016 (5 events). For the purpose of implementing the anti-doping programme on the occasion of the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in October 2018, the IOC EB approved the IOC Anti-Doping Rules applicable to this event.
The Chair of the IOC Audit Committee, Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, reported on the status of the implementation of the recommendations from the IMD report on good governance. Since December 2017, five new recommendations have been implemented or closed, and all other plans are on track, already showing noteworthy progress for many them. More info here.
The IOC EB received a report on the situation of the International Boxing Federation (AIBA) and highlighted its significant ongoing concern with a number of key areas, including governance and ethical and financial management, that require further information and confirmation. Due to the urgency of ensuring strong and positive steps towards addressing these issues, the IOC EB decided to maintain its position, which includes the continued suspension of any financial contributions from the IOC to AIBA, and the right to review the inclusion of boxing on the programme of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. A further review of AIBA’s status will be conducted by the IOC EB at its meeting in Tokyo from 30 November to 2 December 2018, following the AIBA Congress scheduled for 2 and 3 November.
With regard to the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), the EB recognised the concrete steps taken by the IWF to address the actions specified by the Board in December 2017 and to strengthen the IWF Anti-Doping Programme and change cultural attitudes towards doping in high-risk countries. While these measures represent a positive step forward, the Board decided to maintain the status of conditional inclusion of weightlifting in the sports programme of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and base further review on the assessment of the effectiveness of the anti-doping programmes throughout this year (including the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 and the IWF Weightlifting World Championships in November). The IOC EB will discuss the IWF’s status again at its meeting in Tokyo.
Noting the seriousness of the allegations against the President of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) Valery Rukhledev, the Executive Board decided to withhold all financial payments from the IOC to the ICSD and withhold any invitation to the ICSD President to the Olympism in Action Forum in Buenos Aires until the situation has been appropriately addressed by the ICSD.
The IOC EB received updates on the activities of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), as well as a report from the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF). The update on the activities of Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) included a report on traditional survey among NOCs regarding preparation for and participation in the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
The Executive Board granted provisional recognition to the International Ice Stock Sport Federation (IFI).
In the context of designating the members of the International Council of Arbitration for Sports (ICAS), the EB approved the reappointment of Justice Yvonne Mokgoro and Judge Hanqin Xue, as well as the appointment of Judge Patrick Lipton Robinson and Dr Elisabeth Steiner, all of whom are fully independent from the IOC, as members of the ICAS for a period of four years.
Kirsty Coventry, the Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, gave an update on the development of the Athlete Charter of Rights and Responsibilities. It was reported that, following the review of feedback provided by almost 200 athlete representatives, the initial components of the Charter have been developed by a Steering Committee of 20 athlete representatives from across the Olympic Movement. In parallel, stakeholder consultation across all Olympic IFs is taking place.
Following the proposal of the IOC Members Election Commission, the EB decided to put forward nine new Members for election at the IOC Session in Buenos Aires. Five proposed (three women and two men) are Individual Members; two proposed Members whose candidatures are linked to a function within an NOC or world or continental association of NOCs; and two proposed Members whose candidatures are linked to a function within an IF or association of IFs, or an organisation recognised by the IOC. More info here.
The issues around certain NOCs were mentioned by IOC Director of NOC Relations Pere Miró. Concerning the situation of the NOC of Kuwait (suspended), the EB noted that there was now a will in Kuwait to come to a solution for the suspension of the NOC. This had led to the decision by the EB to consider the possibility of lifting the suspension provisionally if some open questions can be addressed to its satisfaction. More info here.
As for the difficulties encountered by the delegation of Kosovo in participating in the European Senior Karate Championships in Serbia in May this year, the EB realised that, even when an agreement with all the sports institutions is in place, there can still be last-minute issues when the political situation is complex. Therefore, a decision was taken to make the IFs aware of this complexity and advise them to take this into account when deciding to hold events in this region. More info here.
There was also an overview on the progress made on the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendations. To date, 60 per cent of the recommendations are fully implemented. The EB members also heard a report on the preparations for the Olympism in Action Forum in Buenos Aires.
There was a report on the activities of the Olympic Channel. The Olympic Channel will play a key role in content distribution, promotion of the YOG Buenos Aires 2018 and live broadcast of the competitions, as the non-exclusive global digital rights-holder.
On the following day of the EB, IOC President attended an Esports Forum at The Olympic Museum hosted by the IOC and the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). The Forum began a dialogue to build joint understanding and set a platform for future engagement between the esports and gaming industries and the Olympic Movement. Participants included over 150 representatives from across the esports and gaming ecosystem: players, publishers, teams, media, sponsors and event organisers; and from across the Olympic Movement: National Olympic Committees, International Sports Federations, athletes, partners, broadcasters, the IOC and the GAISF. For President Bach, this Esports Forum is laying the foundation for the future as “with such a dialogue as a starting point, we can explore some fundamentals of what areas we have in common and also where we still need a better understanding of how our two communities are organised.” The IOC and the GAISF will now establish an Esports Liaison Group to continue communication and engagement between the Olympic Movement and esports and gaming stakeholders in order to identify areas of potential collaboration. Read the full press release here.
IOC President Thomas Bach and the IOC EB members attended the 110th anniversary celebrations of the International Swimming Federation (FINA), which included the inauguration of the new FINA headquarters and a gala reception to close the festivities. On this occasion, FINA President Julio César Maglione, who is also an IOC Honorary Member, accepted the IOC President’s Trophy on behalf of FINA. The ceremony was witnessed by FINA second Vice-President Sam Ramsamy and ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who are both IOC Members, as well as ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti (see also under “IFs”).
In a meeting with the President of the European Olympic Committees (EOC), Janez Kocijanci, he discussed the 2nd edition of the European Games in 2019 and his participation in the EOC General Assembly in November 2018 in Marbella (Spain).
The IOC President met the President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Yoshiro Mori, accompanied by the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Tokyo Games, John Coates. The preparations for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were mainly discussed.
This week, the President held meetings with IOC Vice-Presidents Juan Antonio Samaranch, Anita DeFrantz and Yu Zaiqing, EB member Kirsty Coventry and IOC Member Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah.
The IOC President also welcomed the President of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai, Gu Jianping, who was accompanied by Yu Zaiqing, for a courtesy visit.
COMMISSIONS
The Finance Commission, chaired by EB member Ser Miang Ng, and the Audit Committee, chaired by IOC Member Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, met this week in Lausanne. The IOC President addressed both Commissions talking about several important issues and underlining in particular the importance of good governance in the sports movement.
Other Olympic news
Multiple solutions from TOP Partner Dow have been selected to enhance the architecture and performance of the IOC’s new headquarters (Olympic House) in Lausanne, which is scheduled to open in June 2019. The overall architecture of Olympic House is inspired by the movement of athletes, and blends into its natural park setting through elements such as green roofs. Olympic House is being constructed with a very high level of energy efficiency, long-term savings and sustainability in mind, targeting the achievement of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. More details can be found here.
International Federations
SUMMER IFS
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), USA Weightlifting (USAW) and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) are pooling resources to provide anti-doping education to weightlifting athletes around the globe. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the three entities to launch a new Learning Management System in time for compulsory use at the 2018 IWF World Championships, to be held in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) from 1 to 10 November. More details here.
On 19 July the International Swimming Federation (FINA) celebrated 110 years of history and inaugurated new headquarters in the centre of the Olympic Capital, Lausanne. Around 300 people, including representatives of almost 120 National Federations, members of the IOC Executive Board, media representatives and FINA staff attended the celebration and heard speeches by FINA President, Julio César Maglione, the IOC President and ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah. More details here.
World Rugby is launching #BeYourself at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco (USA) with all 40 teams united in support of the player-focused campaign. This campaign is an inclusive and positive community-driven initiative that enables players, teams and unions to own and champion clean rugby, influencing the next generation of community and elite players. More details here.
On 20 July, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) launched the bidding process for the World Table Tennis Championships Finals for 2021 and 2022. The hosts will be selected during the ITTF Annual General Meeting in April 2019. More info here.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has added Mexico’s top professional baseball leagues, the Mexican Baseball League (LMB) and the Mexican Pacific League (LMP) as Associate Members of the world governing body. The WBSC now has 206 members (195 National Federations and 11 Associate Members) across the five continents, representing around 65 million athletes worldwide. More info here.
Winter IFs
The International Skating Union (ISU) has announced the tragic death of 25-year old skater Denis Ten (photo), on 19 July in Almaty (Kazakhstan). Denis Ten took part in three consecutive editions of the Olympic Winter Games–Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018–and won a bronze medal at the 2014 Games. He also won a silver medal at the 2013 World Championships and a bronze medal at the following edition in 2015. More info at www.isu.org.
As part of its development programme, the International Ski Federation (FIS) is hosting an Alpine skiing training camp from 8 to 28 July in El Colorado (Chile). Eighteen athletes (nine men and nine women) from Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland and Serbia are training with experts in preparation for the coming ski season. More details can be found here.
National Olympic Committees
Bahrain celebrated Olympic Day 2018 on 20 July in Riffa, at the headquarters of the national football federation. The event was organised by the Bahrain Olympic Committee in cooperation with the Bahrain Road Runners, which comes under the Bahrain Athletics Association. Walk-run races of 3 km were held around the various football pitches.
The third module of the International Masters in sports law at the University of Lleyda was officially launched by the President of the Colombian NOC, Baltazar Medina, in a ceremony attended by the course director, Andreu Camps, and NOC Director Constanza Castellanos. Between 16 and 23 July, at the Antioquia Sports Institute in Medellín, the participants attended classes with professors from Spain, Chile, Panama and Colombia. Students from Chile and Peru were also among the participants. More info here.
The British Olympic Association (BOA) informs us that 2008 women’s 4x400m relay team received their bronze medal from the Olympic Games Bejing 2008 during a ceremony held at the Müller Anniversary Games on 21 July in the London Stadium. Christine Ohuruogu, Kelly Sotherton, Marilyn Okoro and Nicola Sanders were awarded their Olympic bronze medal following the disqualification of Russia’s Tatiana Firova in August 2016 and the disqualification of Belarusian athlete Sviatlana Usovich in November 2016 after a positive doping control. More details here.
Joseph Schooling (swimming) and Feng Tianwei (table tennis) were awarded the titles of Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year in Singapore’s annual sports prize awards. The awards ceremony, organised by the NOC of Singapore, is intended to reward the most deserving individuals and teams of the year. NOC President Tan Chuan-Jin, the guest of honour, presented the prizes along with Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth. More details here.
Organising Committees for the Olympic Games
Tokyo 2020
The mascots of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 greeted the Japanese public for the first time at their naming ceremony on 22 July. Thousands of children and adults joined meet & greet events across the Japanese capital to welcome the new ambassadors of the Tokyo 2020 Games. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic mascot's name was revealed as Miraitowa (pronounced mee-rah-e-toh-wa), based on the Japanese words mirai (future) and towa (eternity) combined. This name was chosen to promote a future full of eternal hope in the hearts of people all over the world. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic mascot's name was revealed as Someity, (pronounced soh-may-tee) which comes from someiyoshino, a popular cherry blossom variety, and additionally echoes the English phrase “so mighty”. Someity has tactile cherry blossom sensors and exhibits enormous mental and physical strength. More details here.
In addition, on 20 July, Tokyo 2020 announced an outline of ticket prices for the 2020 Games. There are a wide range of prices aimed at allowing as many people as possible to enjoy Olympic events, including millions of tickets at affordable prices, with half of all tickets priced at JPY 8,000 or less. More details here.
Recognised Organisations
The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), in partnership with 15 IFs, has released the qualification guidelines for the ANOC World Beach Games San Diego 2019. The guidelines sent to the NOCs include details about athlete quotas, eligibility and qualification pathways for all the sports on the programme. Around 1360 athletes from five continents will compete in San Diego from 10 to 14 October 2019. More info here.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced the members of its Standing Committees. Matthias Kamber, former chief executive of the Swiss National Anti-Doping Organisation, will preside over the IPC anti-doping committee. More info on the membership of the IPC’s six other committees (audit and finance, classification, education, medical, Paralympic Games and women in sport) here.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) with a view to coordinating efforts to better fight doping activities, trafficking of doping substances and match-fixing. The purpose of the co-operation between the ICSS and WADA is to support enforcement of national and international anti-doping measures referred to in the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport, as well as match-fixing. More details here.