Olympic Highlights 24/09/2021
IOC ACTIVITIES
PRESIDENT
The IOC has pledged to continue its activities to promote physical activity and equal access to sport as part of a new HealthyLifestyle4All campaign launched by the European Commission. On 23 September, IOC President Thomas Bach announced the IOC’s support for the campaign in a video message played during the HealthyLifestyle4All Seminar, held in Bled, Slovenia, marking the official opening of the European Week of Sport 2021. While outlining the IOC’s support for the campaign, President Bach also highlighted how the coronavirus crisis has underlined the importance of sport for society and shown that it is not only an essential factor in fighting the pandemic, but can also be an integral part of the solution for the crisis recovery. Full news release here.
IOC President Thomas Bach met with Swiss NOC President Jürg Stahl at Olympic House. They discussed the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and Swiss athletes’ performances, Switzerland’s place in the Olympic Movement, as well as the preparations for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
President Bach met World Rowing President and IOC member Jean-Christophe Rolland. During their meeting, the two leaders discussed the success of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.
President Bach also met Olympian and former IOC member Danka Bartekova, who was Vice-Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission. Together they spoke about the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 to which Bartekova took part as well as several Olympic topics, mainly concerning the athletes.
President Bach met US ski jumper Nina Lussi. A member of the US national team since 2005, Lussi is currently working to develop ski jumping across the United States and she is a strong gender equality advocate. She comes from a winter sports family from Lake Placid – her grandfather served as an executive member of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Winter Games Lake Placid 1980 – and she is now hoping to compete at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
Members
IOC member Uğur Erdener has been re-elected as President of World Archery for a fifth and final term to serve until in 2025. He has served in the role since 2005. His re-election took place during the 54th World Archery Congress in Yankton (USA) (see also under “Summer IFs’”.
David Haggerty, IOC member and International Tennis Federation (ITF) President, has been named as a HeForShe Champion as part of UN Women’s new HeForShe Alliance for 2021-2026, bringing together global leaders across business, non-profit and academia determined to stand up and accelerate progress towards gender equality. Haggerty was among the HeForShe Champions speaking at the UN Women’s Global HeForShe Summit held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York (USA). More info here at the ITF website.
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATIONS
SUMMER IFS
The Executive Committee of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) met by video conference on 17 September. The topics addressed included the Tokyo Olympic tournaments, the 3x3 Olympic debut, the 2023 World Cup and the 2022 Women’s World Cup. Progress reports on the three strategic priorities of empowering National Federations, women in basketball and enlarging the FIBA Family were also presented. Full info here.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has launched its new website (uci.org). With a more attractive design and enhanced navigation, this entirely responsive platform is easier to use. Full info here.
The 54th Congress of World Archery was held recently in Yankton (USA). The delegates elected the members of the Executive Board. Elections for positions across World Archery’s permanent and ad hoc committees were also held. More details here.
National Olympic Committees
The Albanian NOC’s Executive Committee recently approved the proposal by NOC President Fidel Ylli (2nd left in photo) to appoint Gerti Shima (centre) as the new NOC Secretary General. Shima has a long career as a basketball player in several teams inside and outside the country. He also served as the captain of the Tirana basketball team, and has been a member of the national team. The new Secretary General met the other members of the NOC staff (photo), Luna Met Hasani (Marketing, Media and International Relations), Merita Guraziu (Finance) and Kliton Muca (Project Manager). More info at www.nocalbania.org.al.
The Colombian Olympic Athletes Association is inviting all Colombian Olympic athletes, active or retired, to take part in “The Olympic Warriors”, an event designed to bring together Olympians of all ages, from different periods and sports, for a programme of sporting, academic and cultural activities. The event will give younger generations the opportunity to interact with the athletes who have inspired them and get to know them on a more personal level outside sport. The event will be taking place from 19 to 21 November in Bogotá. More info here on the Colombian NOC website.
The Estonian NOC has announced the death of two-time Olympic medallist Jüri Tamm (photo) at the age of 64. He won bronze in the hammer throw at the Olympic Games Moscow 1980 and Seoul 1988, competing for the Soviet Union. He also won a silver medal at the World Athletics Championships in Rome in 1987. After his competitive sports career, he turned to sports administration at national and international level. He was an Executive Committee member and Vice-President of the Estonian NOC, as well as Chair of the Athletes’ Commission and the European Affairs Commission of the European Olympic Committees. More info at www.eok.ee and www.eurolympic.org.
The Moroccan NOC was represented by its Secretary General, Abdellatif Idmahamma, at a reception organised on 14 September by the Mohammed VI Foundation of Sports Champions. The reception was held in honour of the medallists from the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. More info at www.cnom.org.ma.
The IOC President has received a SILK Sports Award 2020 in the category ‘Most Outstanding Vision to Secure Humanity and Unity Among All Diversity Through Sport’. The award was presented to President Bach in Tokyo by Sri Lankan NOC President Surendran Subramaniam. The SILK Sports Awards’ ceremony is organised and hosted annually by Sportsinfo, Sri Lanka's sports website.
Organising committees for the olympic games
Beijing 2022
The Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 released a series of official and promotional posters at the opening ceremony of the 2021 Beijing Design Week. Three sets of official Beijing 2022 posters feature the Games’ emblem and mascots, while 11 promotional posters were selected from among thousands of entries received for a design competition. The Beijing 2022 posters feature various elements of winter sports as well as Chinese culture, and highlight the Beijing 2022 motto "Together for a Shared Future”. Full news release here.
PARIS 2024
Meeting on 21 September, the Board of Directors of the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, chaired by Tony Estanguet, approved the guiding principles of the two flagship Games engagement programmes: the volunteer programme and the Torch Relay. Concerning the volunteer programme, which will involve around 45,000 people, the Paris 2024 Board has adopted the proposed Olympic and Paralympic Volunteer Charter and has also approved the guiding principles of the volunteer recruitment strategy. With regard to the Torch Relay route, it will be determined according to three main objectives: enabling the participation of as many French people as possible; showcasing France, its regions, heritage and “savoir-faire”; and promoting the role of sport in society. Full news release here. In addition, a survey conducted after the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 found that 82 per cent of French people are in favour of hosting the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, while among 18 to 24-year-olds there is a massive 92 per cent support. Full news release here.
RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS
The Executive Committee of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) met at the headquarters of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) in Rome. The meeting was led by EOC President Spyros Capralos, and attended by CONI President Giovanni Malagò and Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) President Francesco Ricci Bitti. Updates on the Krakow-Malopolska 2023 European Games, the upcoming 2021 EOC Athletes’ Assembly and EOC Seminar, as well as the next phase of Strategic Agenda 2030 were presented. A statistical overview of the European results from the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was also provided. The next EOC ExCo meeting is scheduled for 24 November in Samorin, Slovakia, on the eve of the 41st EOC Seminar. Full details here.
The Secretary General of the International Committee for the Mediterranean Games (ICGM), Iakovos Filippousis (left on photo), had a meeting in Pristina, Kosovo, with NOC President Ismet Krasniqi (right) and Secretary General Besim Aliti. The main objective was to strengthen collaboration between the ICMG and the Kosovo Olympic Committee. The participation of Kosovo in the Oran 2022 Mediterranean Games, which will be held next June in the Algerian city, was also mentioned. Full details here.
The President of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), Raffaele Chiulli, reiterated to the international sports community and GAISF members that sport is for everyone, and should be celebrated by communities young and old during the European Week of Sport. The European Week of Sport, celebrating its seventh edition, is held annually from 23 to 30 September. This year’s edition is focused on the power of sport to bring people together and create joy, its contribution to building a more resilient society and the value of sport for everyone, regardless of age. More details here.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has become an official partner of the European Commission’s European Week of Sport 2021, which kicked off on 23 September in Bled with a Healthy Lifestyle 4 All event hosted by the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. WADA President Witold Bańka was on hand – alongside other speakers and delegates from the world of politics and sport – to pledge the Agency’s support to the two-year campaign that showcases the European Commission’s commitment to promoting a healthy lifestyle across generations and social groups. Full details here. In addition, the WADA will be holding a webinar for the Anti-Doping Organisations (ADOs) on 21 October. As part of the Agency’s ongoing Code Implementation Support Programme webinar series, the webinar will be focused on monitoring and evaluating education programmes. Detailed info here.
The International Association of Olympic Collectors (IAOC) opened the first international virtual exhibition of Olympic collectibles (AIWOS 2021) on 5 September. Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, IOC Member and Chair of the IOC’s Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission, is the honorary chair of this virtual exhibition. The exhibition brings together around a hundred collections from all over the world, and includes a section specifically for young collectors for the very first time. The public can vote for their favourite collections until 1 October, and the international prize list will be revealed the following day by video. More info here.