Olympic Highlights 25/03/2024

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IOC

PRESIDENT

This week, IOC President Thomas Bach's agenda included two days of IOC Executive Board (EB) meetings at Olympic House. On 19 and 20 March, the EB discussions focused on the activities of the Olympic Movement, the IOC commissions and the IOC administration, together with reports from the Organising Committees for the upcoming Olympic Games.

The IOC EB agreed on a number of concrete implementation aspects for the participation of Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. AINs are athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport who have qualified through the existing qualification systems of the International Federations (IFs) on the field of play. The implementation follows the strict eligibility conditions which were put in place for AINs by the EB on 8 December 2023.

The EB also decided to establish the Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel (AINERP) to evaluate the eligibility of each athlete with a Russian or Belarusian passport who obtains, or who could obtain, a qualification place for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and that of their support personnel. The EB also discussed and decided on a number of protocol elements with regard to the participation of AINs in Paris. Read the full news release here.

With just 128 days to go before the Opening Ceremony, Paris 2024 showcased readiness and final preparations. As part of Paris 2024’s updates to the EB, the Organising Committee outlined their upcoming priorities. This includes delivering 13 further test events/operational activities, onboarding thousands of new staff members, training 45,000 volunteers, installing temporary infrastructure, and attending the lighting of the Olympic flame in Olympia in less than one month’s time. Full details here.

An update about the World Qualifying Tournament in boxing was part of the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU)’s update to the EB, who also discussed boxing at future editions of the Olympic Games. The Paris 2024 qualifying tournaments were organised under the authority of the PBU, an ad-hoc unit created by the EB and tasked with organising and ensuring the delivery of the Olympic Boxing Qualifying Tournaments and the Boxing Competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, following the suspension and the subsequent withdrawal of recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA) by the IOC Session. More detailed info here.

The “Champions Park” at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will now exceptionally be an additional option for Olympic medal reallocation ceremonies, after the EB approved a recommendation from the IOC Athletes’ Commission. Full details here.

The EB was briefed on the latest Milano Cortina 2026 developments. This included updates on the progress of key projects being led by the infrastructure agency, Società Infrastrutture Milano Cortina 2026 (SiMiCo), for venues that will be used at the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Read more here.

The EB received updates on the situations of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of Guatemala and Afghanistan. In the interest of the athletes of Guatemala, the EB decided to provisionally lift the NOC’s suspension until further notice. The EB also confirmed the objective of having a gender-balanced Afghan team at the Olympic Games in Paris. More details here.

Following the disqualification of two athletes from the London 2012 weightlifting competitions, and the change of the official results by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), the EB decided to reallocate medals, diplomas and medallist pins during its meeting. Full info here.

The EB also accepted seven applications for athletes’ changes of sporting nationality. All seven are in view of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. More info here.

This week, the President welcomed the President of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), Ary S. Graça, who presented him with impressive figures concerning the development programme of the FIVB. There is a strong focus on coaching. The result has been to make volleyball a truly global sport, with 200 member federations that have regular competitions and activities. The FIVB President also explained about future plans to develop volleyball as a grassroots sport. In this context, the two leaders discussed how the FIVB can cooperate with Olympism365 activities and the Olympic Refuge Foundation.

At Olympic House, President Bach had a meeting with ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. The two leaders discussed the upcoming editions of the Olympic Games, and the international situation and its impact on sport.

During a phone call with the President of the NOC of Palestine, Jibril Rajoub, the IOC President discussed the current position of the athletes and the sporting community in Palestine. He reaffirmed the IOC’s full support for the athletes and NOC of Palestine. They discussed on how this support can even be strengthened to ensure the participation of a successful Olympic team at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. In this context President Bach congratulated him on the athletes already qualified and reaffirmed the IOC’s continued support in their qualification and preparation for Paris 2024. It was agreed to remain in close contact.

The President also met IOC Member and Israeli NOC President Yael Arad. They discussed the current position of the athletes and the sporting community in Israel, and their preparation for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. President Bach congratulated her on the athletes already qualified and reaffirmed the IOC’s continued support in their qualification and preparation for Paris 2024. It was agreed to remain in close contact.

At an introduction seminar for the new IOC Members elected during the 141^st IOC Session in 2023, the President met Yael Arad, Balázs Fürjes, Cecilia Tait Villacorta, Michael Mronz and Petra Sörling. EB member Denis Oswald guided them through the seminar.

Later, the President presented Cecilia Tait Villacorta with an OLY diploma and pin, and she also signed the Olympians Wall. As a volleyball player, Tait Villacorta participated in three editions of the Olympic Games: Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988, where she won a team silver medal. silver medal. The President of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), Ary S. Graça, also attended the ceremony.

President Bach also welcomed a delegation from the Budapest Organising Committee for the Olympic Qualifier Series, led by Balázs Fürjes, Hungarian Secretary of State for the Development of Budapest, who is also an IOC Member, and Zsolt Gyulay, President of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, who attended a workshop at Olympic House. With the Chinese city of Shanghai, Budapest has been selected as host for the Olympic Qualifier Series, a new series of festival-style events combining sport with urban culture.

The IOC President had a meeting with Paul Caine, President of On Location, the leader in experiential hospitality. They spoke about the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024. The company is the exclusive service provider for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026 and LA28 hospitality programmes.   

Also this week, the President spoke on the phone with Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. They discussed the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024. Yunus is working closely with the Organising Committee, building a new model for the Olympic Games with minimum impact for the planet and maximum legacy impact for people.

At Olympic House, the IOC President hosted more than 60 children from the city and metropolitan community of Montpellier, one of the French cities with the “Terre de Jeux 2024” label. The President answered their questions about his Olympic athlete career, his daily work as President and the history of the IOC. This visit was part of the efforts to mobilise the population of the city and metropolitan community of Montpellier, in particular young people, ahead of the Games in Paris, in cooperation with the “Voyage au Coeur de l’Olympisme” (AVCO) Association. The group also visited the Olympic Museum during their stay in the Olympic Capital.

The President held a phone call with IOC Member Luis Alberto Moreno, who is the IOC’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations. They discussed the geopolitical situation and in particular the contribution of the IOC to the realisation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

A meeting was held with newly elected IOC Member and President of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), Petra Sörling.

OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS

The IOC has published a declaration in which it reaffirms its strong position against the politicisation of sport. This position is a Fundamental Principle of the Olympic Charter. The IOC strongly urges all stakeholders of the Olympic Movement and all governments to reject any participation in, and support of, any initiative that intends to fully politicise international sport. Read here the full text of the declaration.

The IOC has published a statement that there appears to have been a new incident in the Russian disinformation and defamation campaign against the IOC and its President. Full declaration here. The IOC already revealed this disinformation and defamation campaign for the first time in November 2023.

Some 32 sports organisations recognised by the IOC take part in a series of good governance webinars which kicked off on 20 March. Organised by the IOC Ethics and Compliance team, the webinars are intended to support sports organisations in implementing the recently updated Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance within the Olympic Movement (BUPGG), as well as the IPACS good governance benchmark. Read more here.

While Pragnya Mohan always had access to bicycles growing up for both playing and commuting, she realised this was not the case for many young girls struggling to travel to school in her home town of Ahmedabad (India). Now, with the support of the IOC’s Young Leaders Programme, Pragnya has created a project that provides bicycles to young female students for daily travel. As she aims to empower 1,000 girls in 2024, she reflects on the inspiration behind her initiative here.

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATIONS

SUMMER IFS

International Basketball Federation (FIBA)

The draws for the men's and women's Olympic basketball tournaments Paris 2024 have been completed at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland. The Olympic tournaments will take place from 27 July to 11 August. More info here.

International Football Association Federation (FIFA)

The draw for the football competitions of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 took place on 20 March at the Paris 2024 headquarters in Saint-Denis, France. Check out here on the FIFA website the groups in the Olympic men’s and women’s football tournaments.

World Sailing

World Sailing has opened applications for Member National Authorities, events, Class Associations and sailing clubs to develop female coaches or race officials. With Gender Equality Month under way, applications are being invited for the courses, which are aimed at encouraging more women to consider a career or volunteering in sailing. Courses and clinics will be funded by World Sailing, and applications will remain open until 30 March. Full details here.

World Triathlon

World Triathlon has announced that Pontevedra will host the 2025 World Triathlon Multisport Championships from 20 to 29 June. The Spanish city successfully hosted the Championship Finals in 2023 and the Multisport Championships in 2019. Full info here.

NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES

Dominican Republic NOC

A number of Olympic athletes recently inaugurated the “Entre Atletas Studio”. This digital recording studio is available to athletes wanting to launch their own projects, such as the “Entre Atletas” podcast produced by Olympic medallists Luisito Pie (taekwondo) and Luguelin Santos (athletics), and Olympian Camil Domínguez (volleyball). More details here.

Lithuanian NOC (LNOC)

Representatives of five NOCs (Poland, Türkiye, Slovenia, Greece and Lithuania) gathered in Vilnius to put the finishing touches to the International Dual Career Project Olympic Committees for Dual Career. The initiative has resulted in a free training platform that is already operational. The project was funded by the European Union. A survey among 500 athletes from all five countries was carried out to find out about athletes’ needs. The platform will offer training for athletes on human resources, mental health, branding, communication and marketing. Full info here.

Spanish Olympic Committee (COE)

The COE has announced that the Spanish sports news TV series El Pebetero recently featured a number of sports leaders and future Olympic athletes. The first 12 episodes were shown exclusively on the COE’s television platform, but their popularity led to the decision to include them also on YouTube, to give greater visibility to Spanish sport and particularly the athletes ahead of the Games in Paris. Full details here.

Venezuelan NOC (COV)

The COV recently held the first international tug of war course for coaches and referees. Tug of war has been practised in Venezuela for around three years now. The course was led by Pete Dyer and Jost Waser, Senior Vice-President and Vice-President of the Tug of War International Federation. COV President María Soto was also present.

ORGANISING COMMITTEES FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES

PARIS 2024

This week, the crew of the three-masted ship who will accompany the Paris 2024 Olympic flame from the port of Piraeus in Greece to Marseille has been named. Fourteen young people aged from 16 to 24 have been selected to join the professional crew of the Belem and accompany the Olympic flame on its Mediterranean crossing. They will join the ship’s professional crew of 16 led by Aymeric Gibet, the Belem’s captain since 2016. This is a powerful initiative that reflects the commitment of Paris 2024 to the inclusion and recognition of young people. Read the full news release here. On 18 March, Paris 2024 unveiled the first results of its circular economy strategy. Integrated into every level of the organisation, the strategy is based on three key principles: organising the Games with fewer resources; making better use of these resources by promoting eco-design; and ensuring the reuse of resources after the Games. As with its carbon footprint, Paris 2024 wanted to calculate its “material footprint” in advance of the Games, i.e. the total weight of all the resources mobilised for the needs of the Games, a first in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Full news release here.

RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS

International World Games Association (IWGA)

The IWGA and the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 12 March, almost 500 days ahead of the 12^th edition of the World Games, to be held in Chengdu, China from 7 to 17 August 2025. The MoU focuses particularly on the promotion of the sports and disciplines on the World Games programme in Chengdu. Working with the IWGA, the COC’s responsibility will be to create and develop awareness about these sports and disciplines in China. The agreement was signed by IWGA President José Perurena and COC President Gao Zhidan. Full details here. The French and Spanish NOCs previously signed the same MoU with the IWGA at the end of the 1^st IWGA NOCs and National Sports Organisations Meeting held in Madrid, Spain, in October 2023, which was aimed at strengthening the IWGA’s relationships with national sports entities. More info here.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

WADA has published an updated version of its Guidance Note regarding Substances of Abuse under the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code, which was first published in January 2021. Full details here.