Olympic Highlights 14/10/2022
IOC ACTIVITIES
PRESIDENT
This week, IOC President Thomas Bach spoke with Nourdine Bihmane the new CEO of Worldwide TOP Partner Atos. The excellent cooperation between their organisations and the preparations for the next editions of the Olympic Games were addressed.
Also in a phone call, the President and the Global CEO of Worldwide TOP Partner Deloitte, Punit Renjen, spoke about their cooperation on digital strategy and transformation, which will advance the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020+5 goals. In April, both organisations announced a decade-long, five-Games TOP partnership through to 2032.
At Olympic House, the President presented an OLY certificate and pin to Chilean Olympian Simona Castro, who also signed the Olympians Wall. She took part in three editions of the Olympic Games in artistic gymnastics.
President Bach welcomed the graduates from the International Coaching Enrichment Certification Programme (ICECP) classes of 2019, 2020 and 2021 to Olympic House. This programme is offered to NOCs world-wide through a partnership between the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity Department, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the University of Delaware. Over the past 14 years, 460 participants from 120 countries and 35 sports have taken part in the programme.
This week, President Bach met IOC Member Yu Zaiqing, with whom he addressed several current Olympic topics.
The President also discussed a number of topical Olympic issues with IOC Member Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who is also Chair of the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Olympic Games Munich 1972, President Bach held a call with 96-year-old Hans-Wolfgang Tyczka, who developed the technology for the cauldron and the torch for these Games.
COMMISSIONS
The fourth meeting of the IOC Coordination Commission Dakar 2026, chaired by Kirsty Coventry and held virtually on 13 October, focused on the latest activities of the Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee. Plans for the upcoming Dakar en Jeux festival were presented, while updates were also provided on other key areas of Games preparations such as infrastructure, marketing and partnership activities, strategic planning and cultural programmes. Full news release here.
OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS
With World Mental Health Day on 10 October highlighting the importance of raising awareness of mental health issues and the need to look out for one another, the IOC is continuing to expand its range of services developed to support athletes in managing their mental health by launching a new online course for athletes, focused on the importance of sleep and its impact on performance. The course is available on Athlete365. Full news release here. Also on World Mental Health Day, the IOC highlighted how the Worldwide Olympic Partners are supporting athletes’ mental health. Discover some of their initiatives here.
The third edition of the Sport Positive Summit, supported by the IOC, United Nations Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other global sports organisations, was held in London last week. Sports bodies and sport personalities from around the world came together to share their experiences and discuss how sport can help address climate change. All of them pointed out the importance of cooperation in the fight against the crisis. Full news release here.
A series of sports initiations and a commemorative ceremony taking place in Tokyo on Sunday 16 October 2022 will mark the end of the one-year anniversary of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. Organised by the IOC, in collaboration with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) and the Japanese Olympic Committee, the event aims to revive the excitement of the Games and thank the people of Tokyo and Japan for making them a success. Sports initiations, open to the public and taking place in the National Stadium alongside the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon, hosted by the Tokyo Marathon Foundation, will include a variety of both traditional and new Olympic sports. Japanese and international athletes will perform at the event. Full news release here.
The IOC was deeply saddened to learn of the death of its former Director, Ethiopian Fékrou Kidané, at the age of 86, in Paris, France. A sports journalist by profession, he also worked for the United Nations in New York and for sports organisations like the Ethiopian NOC and the African Football Confederation. He joined the IOC in 1990, first as an advisor for matters related to developing countries and apartheid in sport. After the Olympic Games Barcelona 1992, he was appointed IOC Director of the Executive Office of the President and the Department of International Cooperation, a position he held until he left the IOC in 2002. During his time at the IOC, he launched numerous projects, in particular with the United Nations, around the Olympic Truce, the environment, the promotion of women in sport.
NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES
The Barbados Olympic Association Inc. (BOA) has announced that Tyrese Beckles (see photo), a water polo coach, has been awarded an Olympic Solidarity scholarship to attend the International Coaching Course (ICC) from 3 October to 9 December 2022 in Budapest (Hungary). The ICC is delivered by the Hungarian University of Sports Science. The BOA nominated Beckles for the scholarship on the recommendation of the Barbados Aquatic Sports Association. More info at www.olympic.org.bb.
The President of the Dominican Republic NOC, Antonio Acosta, recently received a prize from the national baseball federation (Fedobe) in recognition of his great contribution to and support for the national sports movement. The award was presented to him by Fedobe President Juan Núñez Nepomuseno, at the opening of the federation’s first technical congress, which aims among other things to discuss the future of baseball in the country. More info here.
The Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) hosted the first transnational project meeting of the “Olympic Committees for Dual Career” (OCDC) European project in its headquarters in Athens from 6 to 8 October. OCDC constitutes a two-year project, funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme for education, training, youth and sport. Its main purpose is to promote dual career knowledge and understanding among athletes competing in Olympic sports and National Sports Federations. During the meeting, the project partners – representatives of the NOCs of Greece, Poland, Lithuania, Slovenia and Türkiye and the European Network for Innovation and Knowledge (EUNIK) think tank – discussed the upcoming project activities and how to raise awareness about the importance of dual careers and the digital tools that will be used to this end. More details here.
Ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the Moroccan NOC (CNOM) is stepping up its support for national federations so that they can provide athletes with the best possible preparation conditions. Having launched its scholarship programme for eligible Moroccan athletes, the CNOM is now inviting all federations to update their 2024 Games-specific programmes with a view to drawing up an agreement that sets out the commitments of each party, the list of beneficiaries (athletes and coaches), the preparations programme, the provisional budget and the objectives to be achieved. Full details here.
ORGANISING COMMITTEES FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES
PARIS 2024
The first Paralympic Day, held on 8 October at Place de la Bastille, was a huge popular success. Tens of thousands of people came together to celebrate Paralympic Day, organised jointly by the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, the Ministry of Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the French Paralympic and Sports Committee and the City of Paris. In a festive, sporting atmosphere, Place de la Bastille was transformed into a vast open-air playground, hosting high-level sports demonstrations. Full news release here.