Olympic Highlights 16/10/2023
IOC
PRESIDENT
This week, IOC President Thomas Bach was in Mumbai, India, where he chaired a meeting of the IOC Executive Board (EB) ahead of the 141st IOC Session.
During its meeting on 11 and 12 October, the EB discussed upcoming editions of the Olympic Games, Olympic institutional issues and took a number of decisions.
The unilateral decision taken by the Russian Olympic Committee on 5 October 2023 to include, as its members, the regional sports organisations which are under the authority of the NOC of Ukraine (namely Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia) constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, as recognised by the IOC in accordance with the Olympic Charter. In view of the above, the IOC EB decided that the Russian Olympic Committee is suspended with immediate effect until further notice. Full detailed info here.
Baseball/softball, cricket (T20), flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash are the five sports submitted by the IOC EB to the upcoming IOC Session as additional sports for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28). These additional sports were proposed by the LA28 Organising Committee, for its edition of the Games only, and were reviewed by the Olympic Programme Commission before being put forward to the EB (read the news release here).
The IOC EB also reviewed the status of three sports which were not part of the initial sports programme (boxing, modern pentathlon and weightlifting) following the decision by the IOC Session in February 2022 to approve the inclusion of 28 sports on the initial sports programme of the Olympic Games LA28. The LA28 discipline programme has been finalised by the IOC EB and will not require any approval by the IOC Session. Read the full news release here.
The preliminary findings of a report looking at a sustainable future for the Olympic Winter Games were presented to the EB. They were delivered by the Chair of the IOC’s Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games, Karl Stoss, and included preliminary results from two studies. Also included was a proposal to the 141st IOC Session to discuss a double allocation to two hosts for the Olympic Winter Games 2030 and the Olympic Winter Games 2034 by the IOC Session 2024. Read the full news release here.
The EB confirmed that Shanghai and Budapest have been selected as hosts for the Olympic Qualifier Series, a new series of festival-style events combining sport with urban culture. The two-part series, taking place in the period leading up to the Olympic Games Paris 2024, will be an important step in determining which athletes qualify in BMX freestyle, breaking, skateboarding and sport climbing for Paris 2024.Full details here.
The EB approved the qualification systems for cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, luge, Nordic combined, ski jumping and snowboard at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. The IOC EB also confirmed a reduction in IF delegation sizes for the Games, to improve organisational efficiencies and reduce costs. Read the full news release here.
As a key step forward in strengthening safeguarding in sport at local levels and providing the best possible support for athletes, the IOC EB has approved a plan to establish two pilot regional safeguarding hubs in Southern Africa and the Pacific Islands. The plans build on existing initiatives in those regions. In addition, the IOC EB supported the initial work for a European safeguarding hub. The establishment of the pilot hubs will be overseen by an International Safe Sport Task Force, which will include representatives from sport, intergovernmental organisations, and civil society. The EB approved the creation of the International Safe Sport Task Force, and also gave its green light for the drafting of an International Safe Sport Framework. Read the full news release here.
The EB has also approved three changes of nationality in view of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Details here.
The IOC President also took part in a joint meeting between the IOC Executive Board and the IOC Athletes’ Commission. They discussed the recent International Athletes’ Forum held in Lausanne earlier this month, as well as the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the evolution of the online support platform for athletes, Athlete 365. Read the full news release here.
While in Mumbai the IOC President attended an Indian Super League (ISL) football match between Mumbai City FC and Kerala Blasters FC. He was accompanied by IOC Member Nita Ambani and Bollywood celebrity couple Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor.
A visit to the Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) football academy in Mumbai was also on the President’s agenda. On this occasion, a new cooperation between the IOC and the Foundation to advance Olympic values education across India was agreed by the IOC President and Nita Ambani, IOC Member and Reliance Foundation Founder Chairperson. The programme has the potential to reach 27 million children in Maharashtra, and an additional 7 million in the state of Odisha, in a programme run through the Abhinav Bindra Foundation. During the ceremony, President Bach and Nita Ambani joined students in leaving their handprints on a new Olympic Values Pledge Wall, marking a commitment to be a positive role model both in sports and in day-to-day life. The President also engaged in sports with students, playing football, gully cricket, and even the traditional Indian game of kho kho. Full news release here. See also under ‘Other Olympic News’.
President Bach met the President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Olympian PT Usha. She is the first woman and the first Olympian appointed as IOA President. Both leaders discussed the India’s interest in hosting a future edition of the Olympic Games and the power of sport to inspire and transform lives. The President wished the IOA all the best in its preparations for the upcoming Olympic Games and for their journey of reform and change.
The President also received the Sports Minister Shri Anurag Thakur for a courtesy meeting.
Ahead of the IOC Session, President Bach and Nita Ambani were welcomed by Eknath Shinde, Chief Minister of Maharashtra State, as well as Shri Fadnavis and Shri Amit Pawar. After the meeting the President was a guest of IOC Member Nita Ambani and her husband Mukesh Ambani at their residence.
During his stay in Mumbai, the IOC President met Uday Shankar, Co-founder of Bodhi Tree Systems and former President of the Walt Disney Company APAC. They discussed the role of corporations to inspire fans and young people across India to engage with Olympic sports and the Olympic values.
On 16 and 17 October the IOC will hold its 141st IOC Session in Mumbai, chaired by President Thomas Bach. As at every Session, the proceedings will be streamed live on YouTube. The Session’s decisions will be fully covered on Olympics.com.
OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS
The IOC and the Olympic Museum have aligned with Reliance Foundation to build on the success of the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) in India, underscoring the organisations’ shared priority to promote Olympic values among young people through sport. A new cooperation agreement was agreed upon by the IOC President and Nita Ambani, IOC Member and founder of the Reliance Foundation, during a visit to the Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) football academy in Mumbai. Around 80 RFYC students took part in games with over 100 children from Reliance Foundation schools and NGO partners to mark the occasion. Read the full news release here.
Launched by the IOC in September, the Olympic Forest Network is adding an ambitious ecological restoration project in India’s Odisha state, an area with one of the largest populations of tribal communities and home to abundant biodiversity and endangered species. Led by the Odisha Forest Department, the Abhinav Bindra Foundation Trust and The Habitats Trust, and driven by IOC Athletes’ Commission member and Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, the Odisha Ridley Forest initiative aims to plant one million trees over 1,500 hectares. The project is supported by the Indian Olympic Association. Read the full news release here.
The IOC Refugee Olympic Team will be hosted in the historic town of Bayeux in Normandy, France, for its pre-Games Training Camp ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. To mark the announcement, the town of Bayeux hosted a ceremony in the presence of Masomah Ali Zada, a member of the Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020 and of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, as well as representatives from the Olympic Refuge Foundation. Participants were also invited to a screening of the documentary We Dare to Dream, directed by Oscar-nominated refugee filmmaker Waad al-Kateab. Full news release here.
The IOC has released the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 Midway Report Highlights ahead of the upcoming 141st IOC Session in Mumbai. The document, which outlines the key progress made to date, will be discussed by the Session. Detailed info here.
Through his project “SportXALL”, launched with the support of the IOC Young Leaders Programme, Rishav Bhowmik is hoping to make it easier for young people in India to find their strengths and get them into the sports and clubs that best suit their skill sets. Here, the IOC Young Leader talks about his new programme and how the IOC Session in Mumbai shows the growing importance of sport in India.
On World Mental Health Day, the IOC reiterated its commitment to promote mental wellbeing throughout the global sporting community by emphasising the importance of self-care and launching new resources encouraging the practice of mindfulness. Complementing the ever-growing number of #MentallyFit tools available for athletes and their entourages for free through the IOC’s Athlete365 platform, a new Mindful Social Media learning course as well as free access to a leading mindfulness app have just been added. Full details here.
An updated Q&A on participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions is available here.
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATIONS
SUMMER IFS
World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC)
The WBSC announced it has chosen Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, as its dedicated sustainability partner for Baseball5. Under the partnership, both parties will work together to develop tailor-made sustainable products, services and solutions, aiming to make WBSC events more eco-friendly. The WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup, which took place in Türkiye from 10 to 15 October, was the first event to implement Alibaba Cloud’s sustainability initiatives. Full details here.
World Rowing
orld Rowing has announced that it will be collaborating with public announcer Alan Roach, the “Voice of the Super Bowl” for the new Beach Sprint Rowing discipline. Alan Roach, a renowned sports announcer known for his distinctive voice and vast experience in major sporting events worldwide, has become an iconic figure in the world of sports commentary. More details here.
World Sailing
World Sailing is launching a ground-breaking six-month series of webinars designed to empower Member National Authorities, classes, event organisers, sailing clubs and anyone involved in the sport to improve their sustainability. The expert-led Sustainability Sessions will be free and open to anyone. More info here, including the full list of the 2023 and 2024 Sessions.
NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES
Dominican NOC (COD)
The Dominican Olympic Committee joined the celebration of ‘National Club Day’, which highlights the role played by clubs in sports and cultural education in society. Led by President Garibaldy Bautista, the COD noted that clubs have great responsibility as training entities, and applauded the contribution of club leaders to cementing the role of sports clubs as the foundation of the sports movement. The NOC promotes training for community leaders to educate children and young people through sport, arts and culture. More info here.
Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC)
The HOC President and IOC Member Spyros Capralos took part in the European Week of Sport, placed under the theme #BeActive. He was joined by Giorgos Mavrotas, Greece’s Secretary General for Sports, Thanasis Papageorgiou, President of the Hellenic Shooting Sports Federation, Paralympic swimmer Yannis Kostakis and officials of the Ministry of Education and Sports. Together they participated in an air pistol shooting competition organised by Be Active Hellas at the Olympic Complex of Athens (OAKA) to promote the benefits of lifelong exercise. Led by Olympian Agi Kasoumi, the participants were introduced to the discipline of sport shooting. More details here.
Oman Olympic Committee (OOC)
The OOC Board of Directors held its 3rd meeting of 2023 on October 10th, chaired by OOC Chairman Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Zubair. On the agenda were the participation and achievements of Oman athletes at the 19th Asian Games, the 2024 plan and budget, and the upcoming meetings of heads of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) NOCs, due to be hosted by the OOC from 14 to 17 October. More details here.
Spanish NOC (COE)
On 9 October the COE hosted a sustainability strategy meeting in preparation for the 2030 Football World Cup, which was attended by representatives of the COE and the 2030 World Cup bid committee. The 2030 event is due to take place in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. Last year, the COE and the Spanish football federation signed the COE’s Sustainability Manifesto, marking the start of a close collaboration on environmental and human sustainability in sport. More details here. In collaboration with the Supreme Sports Council, the COE hosted the 2nd Athletes in the Media course for active and former athletes. The aim of the course was to highlight potential employment opportunities through testimonials from journalists and former athletes now working as sports commentators. More info here.
ORGANISING COMMITTEES FOR THE YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES
GANGWON 2024
Three days after the arrival of the Youth Olympic Flame for the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Gangwon 2024 at Incheon International Airport in the host nation of the Republic of Korea, the Gangwon 2024 Torch Tour set off on 11 October, exactly 100 days before the opening of the Games. The local Organising Committee, led by its two Co-Presidents, Lee Sang-hwa and Jin Jong-oh, invited athletes, K-pop stars and the public to celebrate this key milestone in Seoul, Republic of Korea. One of the guests was Yuna Kim, Gangwon 2024 Honorary Ambassador and Olympic figure skating champion. The Youth Olympic flame will embark on an 80-day odyssey across the host nation. The Torch Tour is an 80-day od, which will run until the Opening Ceremony of the Games – 19 January 2024-, has been designed as a “Journey of Solidarity” – spreading the importance of sport and the Olympic values to young people, promoting participation in sport, and raising awareness of the Winter YOG. Read the full news release here.
RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS
International Paralympic Committee (IPC)
Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of Paralympic sport, will be where the Paralympic Flame is kindled ahead of each Paralympic Torch Relay from Paris 2024 onwards. The purpose of this new concept, devised by the IPC, ParalympicsGB and WheelPower, is to increase global awareness of the role played by Stoke Mandeville and Sir Ludwig Guttmann in the birth and development of the Paralympic Movement. Just as the Olympic Flame is kindled in Olympia, Greece, the Paralympic Flame will now be created in Stoke Mandeville to mark the start of the Torch Relay. Full news release here.
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
WADA has launched a new education course on its Anti-Doping Education and Learning Platform (ADEL) for athletes and coaches aiming to attend the Olympic Games Paris 2024. 'ADEL for Paris 2024 Olympic Games', developed by WADA with the IOC and the International Testing Agency (ITA), is now available in English and French and will soon be available in Spanish. Full info here. Registration is now open for the WADA 2024 Global Education Conference (GEC), which will be held from 27 to 29 February 2024 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, in partnership with France’s national anti-doping organisation, l’Agence française de lutte contre le dopage (AFLD). Full info here.