Olympic highlights 17/09/2019
IOC ACTIVITIES
President
IOC President Thomas Bach welcomed a delegation led by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who presented a project for a possible candidature for the Olympic Games 2032. The delegation included Members of Parliament Ted O'Brien and Milton Dick, Council of Mayors South East Queensland representative Mark Jamieson and Star Entertainment Chair John O'Neill, as well as Australian Olympic Committee President and IOC Member John Coates. “We had an excellent and very fruitful meeting with many questions which have been asked,” President Bach said. “We have seen further progress here today when the project was presented, and we are as impressed, at least as impressed, by this as by the political and cross-party support the project enjoys. This is not only impressive but, at this early stage, innovative, to have all parties united behind this Olympic project and behind sport in Australia.” For Queensland Premier Palaszczuk, “the expansive presentations of the IOC have been beneficial [to help us understand] what we need to do to complete the value assessment as soon as possible. I would like to see it completed by the end of November.” She also added: “I would like to see these as the People’s Games, for the people and inclusive of our people.”
Olympic House opened its doors to the public on 13 and 14 September welcoming 2185 visitors. Young and old, neighbours and tourists, Olympic fans, and members of local sport clubs had the opportunity to explore the brand-new building. In groups of 20 people, visitors discovered the upper levels and workspaces of Olympic House, including until the IOC President’s office, where they were greeted by Thomas Bach in person. “It was great to welcome so many interested Lausannois and people from around the world. Here in Olympic House beats the heart of the Olympic Movement. It is an open and accessible place. I am very happy that so many people accepted our invitation”, said President Thomas Bach who even allowed the guests to take his seat for a few minutes. Full news release here.
President Bach met the Chairman of the British Olympic Association (BOA), Hugh Robertson, who was accompanied by BOA Secretary General Andy Anson. They discussed the upcoming editions of the Olympic Games and how British athletes are preparing for the Games.
President Bach welcomed the members of the Executive Committee of the NOC of Barbados, whose President is Sandra Osborne. IOC Member Austin L. Sealy was also present. Their discussions covered the situation of sport in the country, its athletes’ preparations for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the various Olympic Solidarity programmes. The Barbados NOC is the first NOC to hold an executive committee meeting at Olympic House.
With Spanish NOC President Alejandro Blanco, discussions covered various topics of mutual interest.
This week, the IOC President also attended the Parliamentary Evening of German Sport in Berlin. He joined a panel discussion with Wolfgang Schäuble, the President of the German Parliament, and Alfons Hörmann, President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), of which Thomas Bach was President from 2006 to 2013, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its “Integration through Sport” programme, together with 450 guests. The programme is financed by the Ministry of the Interior and helps migrants and refugees who move to Germany to integrate into their new home country by becoming members of one of the country’s 90,000 sports clubs.
The President of The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA), Ju-ho Chang, spoke to the President about the role of sport and physical education for all and the Active Well-being Initiative, developed partly by TAFISA and supported by the IOC.
The IOC President also received Sven Spannekrebs, trainer of swimmer Yusra Mardini, a member of the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Games in Rio.
During a reception, the IOC President thanked the members of the Vaud Cantonal Police, the diplomatic police and the Lausanne police for their collaboration on the occasion of the opening of Olympic House and the 134th IOC Session in June this year.
Meetings were held with IOC Executive Board member Ivo Ferriani and IOC Members John Coates and Morinari Watanabe, during which various Olympic topics were discussed.
TOP Partners
Worldwide Olympic Partner Intel has revealed how its technology will help enhance the experience for athletes, fans and viewers during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, as well as benefiting the Games organisers. In partnership with the IOC, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and other Games partners, Intel’s ground-breaking technology will bring innovations to the Games across a wide range of areas, from 5G platforms and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to immersive media and esports. Full news release here.
OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS
During their visit to Olympic House, two Olympians signed the Olympians’ Wall in the IOC Sports Department: Hungarian boxer István Kovács (left of photo), Olympic bantamweight champion at the Olympic Games Atlanta 1996 and flyweight bronze medallist at the Olympic Games Barcelona 1992; and India’s Mary Kom (right), flyweight bronze medallist at the Olympic Games London 2012.
Rio 2016 sailing gold medallist Hannah Mills (photo) has launched the Big Plastic Pledge – a global campaign to unite athletes and fans around the issue of plastic pollution. The campaign is supported by the IOC, as part of its commitment to the UN Clean Seas campaign. The Big Plastic Pledge calls on athletes and fans to reduce the use of single-use plastic in their daily lives by pledging to at least three actions, such as using refillable water bottles, refusing plastic packaging and encouraging sports clubs and event organisers to find alternatives to single-use plastic. Full news release here.
International federations
summer ifs
World long jump record-holder and two-time world champion Mike Powell has been named an ambassador for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, which will take place from 27 September to 6 October. Powell joins multiple world and Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton, and Brianne Theisen-Eaton, the 2016 world indoor pentathlon champion, as an ambassador for this 17th edition. More details here on the IAAF website.
A study commissioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) has revealed the economic impact of the UCI’s major cycling events. Conducted by EY, this study focused on the UCI World Championships in road, track, mountain bike and Gran Fondo (a mass-participation event). Full details here.
The third annual World Fencing Day, which took place on Saturday 7 September, brought together fencers around the world under this year’s theme, “Fencing for our Planet”. For example, the Oman Fencing Federation worked with local environmental professionals in an educational forum and project dedicated to managing and reducing waste; the Mumbai Fencing association organized a beach cleaning program; and even staff from the International Fencing Federation (FIE) Head Office in Lausanne participated in helping clean the shores of Lake Geneva. Globally, from projects to help the environment to good works helping those in need in the community and implementing sustainability policies at clubs and tournaments, World Fencing Day and fencers everywhere strive to help the world become a better place. More details here.
Bruno Grandi (photo), former President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) passed away on 13 September in Italy, at the age of 85. As a high-level athlete, professor, coach, judge and administrator, Bruno Grandi has explored nearly all facets of gymnastics. He presided over the Italian Gymnastics Federation from 1977 to 2000 and was also Vice President of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) from 1987 to 2005. He was President of the FIG from 1997 to 2016 and an IOC Member from 2000 to 2004. Bruno Grandi has marked the sport with the reforms he undertook for gymnastics to gain credibility, popularity and universality. More details here.
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) has announced the 2020 calendar of the FINA/CNSG Diving World Series as well as the dates of the FINA Diving World Cup, a test and qualifying event for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The Series will be held over four legs, starting in Montreal (Canada) from 28 February to 1 March, and then moving to Beijing (People’s Republic of China) from 6 to 8 March and Kazan (Russian Federation) from 20 to 22 March, before finishing in London (Great Britain) from 27 to 29 March. The World Cup will be staged in Tokyo in April 2020. More details on www.fina.org.
World Rugby and ChildFund, the principal charity partner for the Rugby World Cup 2019, have confirmed that a record-breaking GBP 2 million has been pledged to the innovative ChildFund Pass It Back programme. Funds raised through opt-in donations when purchasing tickets have increased by an impressive 50 per cent compared to the World Cup in 2015. The pledged funds will give more than 25,000 children and young people from disadvantaged communities in Asia the opportunity to benefit from their involvement in the ChildFund Pass It Back programme. Led by ChildFund in partnership with World Rugby and Asia Rugby, ChildFund Pass It Back not only promotes the right to play in communities where children have little or no access to organised sport, but also provides important learning opportunities around leadership, problem-solving, gender equality, conflict-resolution and planning for the future. Over half of all the players and coaches involved in the programme are female. More details here.
National Olympic committees
Mustapha Berraf, President of the Algerian NOC and the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and an IOC Member, met the Hungarian Ambassador to Algeria, Helga Katalin Pritz, at the NOC headquarters. Their discussions covered the sports course initiated by the Algerian NOC with its Hungarian counterpart and Hungarian embassy services in Algeria. This course, which forms part of the preparations for the national teams during the 2020–2024 period and the promotion of women’s sport, was held from 14 to 28 August in the Hungarian Olympic Centre at Tata, and brought together 76 athletes and 10 coaches in 10 disciplines. More details here. In addition, a meeting was held previously with the Cuban Ambassador to Algeria, Clara Margarita Pulido Escandell. The discussions covered Olympic and sports cooperation between the two countries’ NOCs, and ways to develop bilateral relations. More details here.
At the beginning of September, the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) presented details of its doping prevention and education programme. The objective of the programme is to develop awareness and information for the protection of athletes, expanding access to anti-doping education right from the earliest stages of the development of Olympic athletes. In addition to journalists and opinion-leaders, BOC staff and guests from partner institutions in the Brazilian anti-doping system also attended the presentation held at the BOC headquarters. The BOC Director General, Olympic champion Rogério Sampaio, opened the event, during which BOC Doping Prevention and Education Manager Christian Trajano (photo) made the presentation. More info here.
The 5th International Women and Sport Conference organised by Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) was held in Taipei on 10 and 11 September, with around 100 participants. The Conference was on the theme “Women: The Makers of Sustainable Development in Sport”, and covered topics such as women’s empowerment and leadership, health promotion and lifelong learning, and safe sport. CTOC President Hong-Dow Lin; Feng-Chi Chu, Chair of the CTOC Women and Sport Commission; and Chin-Hsung Kao, Director General of Sports Administration, opened the Conference. Among the speakers were Baklai Temengil, IOC Member and Secretary General of the Palau NOC; Fortuna Belrose, President of the St Lucia Olympic Committee; Beng Choo Low, Secretary General of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC); and Susan Moore, deputy representative of the Australian Office Taipei. Furthermore, a bilateral cooperation agreement was signed between the CTOC and the St Lucia Olympic Committee by Presidents Hong-Dow Lin and Fortuna Belrose. This is the 38th NOC to sign such an agreement with the CTOC. More info at www.tpenoc.net.
organising committes for the Olympic games
Tokyo 2020
The Organising Committee for the Olympic Games 2020 (Tokyo 2020) has launched its “Make the Beat!” project combining sound, technology and social media, to allow fans from all over the world to take part in energising venues and encouraging their favourite teams and athletes. “Make the Beat!” will introduce fans to the official Tokyo 2020 beat, a melodic rhythm that spectators can dance or clap along to, and encourage fans to create their own #2020beat content to be played in venues and at Live Sites. Full press release here.