Olympic Highlights 16/05/2022
IOC ACTIVITIES
PRESIDENT
This week, IOC President Thomas Bach held consultation calls with the NOCs, the IFs and the athletes’ representatives to exchange views and discuss the position of the IOC and the Olympic Movement with regard to the war in Ukraine. IOC Member and Ukrainian NOC President Sergii Bubka took part in the calls.
During the discussions, the President provided context and perspective on the principles behind the sanctioning and protective measures we implemented following the Russian invasion in Ukraine. He also explained that this situation creates an unsolvable dilemma for the Olympic Movement, because we are not able to fully live up to our mission to unite the entire world in peaceful competition.
Mr Bubka highlighted the Ukrainian position and thanking the stakeholders for the great demonstration of solidarity with the Ukrainian Olympic community.
The stakeholders on all calls voiced their full support for the actions and position of the IOC, underlining the unity of the Olympic Movement on this issue.
This week also saw the IOC President receive the President of World Taekwondo (WT), Chungwon Choue, at Olympic House, as well as the WT Council, which was meeting at the IOC’s headquarters. A number of Olympic topics, including preparations for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026, were discussed, as were the humanitarian efforts being made by WT to support refugees through the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation.
The President and IOC Vice-President Ser Miang Ng discussed a number of current Olympic topics ahead of next week’s IOC Executive Board meeting and IOC Session.
The President held a phone conversation with the former Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who is also a member of the IOC Women in Sport Commission. Various Olympic topics were addressed during the conversation.
The President welcomed Balázs Fürjes, the Hungarian Secretary of State for the Development of Budapest, to Olympic House. They spoke about the numerous major sports events organised in Hungary and Budapest, several Olympic topics and the current international situation.
The IOC President also met Michael Evans, the Director and President of Worldwide Olympic Partner Alibaba. The discussions focused on the excellent cooperation between the two organisations. Evans was accompanied by marketing consultant Michael Payne, the former IOC Marketing Director.
OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS
Highlighting the youth perspective on the role of sport in society, the IOC Young Leaders participated in a panel discussion entitled “Tackling Unequal Access to Sport – powered by IOC Young Leaders and Young Sports Makers” during Global Sports Week (GSW) in Paris (France). Over 2,000 delegates onsite – and many more virtually – participated in Global Sports Week from 10 to 12 May 2022, where delegates from all over the world came together to discuss the future of sport at the intersection of business and society. Read the full news release here.
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATIONS
SUMMER IFS
World Triathlon has announced that Ibiza (Spain) will host the World Triathlon Multisport Championships from 29 April to 7 May 2023. The Mediterranean island already hosted the European version of the event in 2018. The 2022 world edition will take place in Targu Mures (Romania) from 6 to 12 June. More info here.
NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and the Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français (CNOSF) recently signed a collaboration agreement committing to strengthening the existing friendship and understanding between the two NOCs. COC President and IOC Member Tricia Smith signed the MOU alongside CNOSF President Brigitte Henriques (photo) during the Canadian delegation’s visit to Paris, France, for Global Sports Week. She was joined by the COC’s Chief Sport Officer Eric Myles and Olympic champion and Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Chef de Mission Bruny Surin. More details here.
After two years of absence due to the pandemic, the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC)’s annual awards ceremony was held at the HOC Amphitheatre, with many prominent figures in attendance, including the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the Minister of Sport, Lefteris Avgenakis, the General Secretary of Sport, George Mavrotas, and the President of the Greek Olympians, Voula Kozompoli. Those honoured included the athletes and their coaches who won medals at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, as well as all the athletes who won medals at World and European Championships in 2021. In addition, HOC President and IOC Member Spyros Capralos presented an award to the Japanese Ambassador to Greece, Yasunori Nakayama, for the successful organisation of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (see photo). Full details here.
The NOC of Morocco (CNOM) is continuing its strategy to promote the practice of sport and its values through the Olympic Visits programme for young children in state schools. Aiming to replicate the experience across all regions of the country, the CNOM, in collaboration with the Regional Education and Training Academy of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, has just launched the second edition of this programme, which – among other things – aims to raise awareness among Moroccan youngsters of the importance of practising sport in all its forms. More info here.
The Spanish NOC has paid a moving tribute to the Spanish athletes who competed in the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary and Seoul. Awarding commemorative diplomas to the athletes present, NOC President Alejandro Blanco was accompanied by NOC Secretary General Victoria Cabezas, First Vice-President Isabel Fernández, and the presidents of various national federations represented at these Games. The Spanish delegation in Calgary comprised 12 athletes, while a few months later in Seoul, there were 217 athletes on the team. Full details here.
ORGANISING COMMITTEES FOR THE YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES
GANGWON 2024
At the second IOC Coordination Commission meeting which was held virtually on 11 and 12 May, the Gangwon 2024 Organising Committee took the opportunity to present its online and physical Local Youth Activities. Their key role is to mobilise and incite youth engagement. All ingredients that have contributed to the success of the YOG over the past 10 years will be at the heart of this 4th edition of the Winter YOG. Read the full news release here.
RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has launched the PARA SPORT programme to grow awareness and participation in Para sport. The PARA SPORT narrative, “It Starts With Sport”, is inspired by the journey of high performance Para athletes and complements the wider IPC brand narrative of “Change Starts With Sport”, which communicates the transformational impact that Para sport has on society. It also shows the value of sport through three core elements: awareness, community and freedom. Full details here.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has published the agenda for the Athlete Session that will follow the 2022 Annual Symposium (11-12 June). Both the Symposium and the Athlete Session will be held in a hybrid fashion (in-person/virtual) in Lausanne. Taking place on 13 June under the leadership of WADA’s Athlete Committee, the Athlete Session is exclusively for athletes and athlete representatives. Full details here.