Olympic Highlights

IOC ACTIVITIES

PRESIDENT

Croatia’s success at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 was praised by IOC President Thomas Bach on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Croatian Olympic Committee celebrated on 10 September in Zagreb. The IOC President was invited to the anniversary celebrations by NOC President Zlatko Matesa. Around 250 guests joined the celebration, including a number of Olympic medallists and hopeful athletes, as well as Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković, IOC Honorary Member Antun Vrdoljak, Janez Kocijančič, acting President of the European Olympic Committees (EOC), and EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi.

During a meeting at the presidential residence, the President of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, stressed the important role of sport for her country. President Bach was accompanied by NOC President Zlatko Matesa and Sara Kolak, gold medallist in javelin from Rio 2016. Parallel to the meeting, the European Week of Sport kicked off in the garden of the presidential residence.

The IOC President also enjoyed a long conversation with a number of medallists from Rio 2016 and former table tennis player and Olympic medallist Zoran Primorac, who is now the President of the Club of Croatian Olympians and NOC Vice-President. Read the full press release here.

INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FEDERATIONS

SUMMER IFS

Following the initial Memorandum of Understanding announced in January 2016 to study the development of several specific projects designed to increase global awareness of boxing and the value of all boxing competitions run by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), AIBA and Alisports have an agreement in principle on the creation of a Joint Venture in 2016 to focus on exclusive matches and events, internet technology and extended e-commerce product lines. Furthermore, after the Olympic Games Rio 2016, AIBA President Ching-Kuo Wu, AIBA Vice-Presidents and Commission Chairs convened in Lausanne for meetings to reflect on events during the Games and the reforms the organisation needs to undertake in order to build on the several groundbreaking changes implemented at Rio 2016. More details on www.aiba.org.

On 18 October the International Cycling Union (UCI) Cycling Gala will return to Abu Dhabi, where it will be hosted by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the United Arab Emirates Cycling Federation. This end-of-season event will celebrate the year’s greatest achievements in professional road cycling. More info on www.uci.ch.

The International Association Football Federation (FIFA) has joined the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Secretariat’s Climate Neutral Now initiative, becoming the first international sports organisation to do so. By joining the campaign, FIFA has pledged to continue to strive towards becoming greenhouse gas emission-neutral by the mid-21st century, and has committed, as it did in Brazil in 2014, to measuring, reducing and offsetting all of its greenhouse gas emissions at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. More info here on www.fifa.com.

Thanks to its impressive efforts on Olympic Day 2016, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has won the International Hockey Federation (FIH)'s Olympic Day Activity Award. As a result, Pakistan's National Association will receive funding from the FIH to support development projects in the country over the coming months. The award was set up by the FIH last spring and has seen more than 40 nations answer the call. The Pakistan Hockey Federation set up a number of activities that brought hockey to more than 2,000 participants. Several Olympic gold medallists turned up to support the project. Members of both the men’s and women’s national teams were on hand, their presence creating a stir among the young hockey fans. More info here on www.fih.ch.

The International Judo Federation (IJF) is launching a new-look website. The website www.ijf.org is intended to optimise the flow of information while enhancing contact among all IJF stakeholders, athletes, media, fans and professionals.

During the More than Medals Talent ID Camp run by United World Wrestling (UWW), officials from UWW and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as well as Athlete Role Model Sofia Mattsson joined forces to deliver a short programme on how to create, manage and achieve athletic and personal goals. Sofia Mattsson and Elisabeth Egnell (a former member of the Swedish women's basketball team) shared the secrets of their goal setting techniques. In total the programme welcomed 22 athletes ages 15-17 from Sweden, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to the camp in Sweden, an initiative also supported by Olympic Solidarity. More info on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

The International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) has continued to extend the reach of its Laser-Run concept by supporting an activity day for over 400 people in Dili, Timor-Leste several weeks ago. The session formed part of a ‘Sport for Life Youth Leadership Camp’ arranged by SportImpact, a social enterprise that works on human development projects. The participants, mostly boys and girls aged 10-15, had the opportunity to practise laser shooting for the first time using UIPM equipment (see photo above), and to learn about the benefits of this safe and ecological form of shooting. The most accurate shooters on the day were invited to try their hand at Laser-Run, the format that mirrors Modern Pentathlon’s Combined Event and which now has its own annual World Championships, this year taking place in Lisbon, Portugal on 3 and 4 September. The UIPM also announced the launch of its first ever internet portal designed to offer coaches from around the world an educational, interactive and collaborative experience. More info on www.pentathlon.org.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Special Olympics have announced an agreement for long-term strategic, cooperative support. As part of the collaboration, the ITF will provide access to teaching and coaching resources that support the delivery of a safe, fun and positive experience of tennis to children and adults with intellectual disabilities, while Special Olympics will recognise the ITF as an international partner and will increase the number of tennis schools and tennis players with intellectual disabilities around the world. More info on www.itftennis.com.

Following the ITU Executive Board meeting in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and the completion of the 2017 World Triathlon Series calendar, on 7 September the International Triathlon Union (ITU) announced the schedule for the 2017 World Cup races. See it on www.triathlon.org.

WINTER IFS

The 54 member associations of the World Curling Federation (WCF) met for the fifth WCF Congress and Annual General Assembly in Stockholm (Sweden) from 7 to 10 September. Among the topics addressed were the Executive Board elections, presentations by the Organising Committees of the 2018 and 2022 Olympic Winter Games and a proposal for a new ‘World Series of Curling'. More info on www.worldcurling.org.

Two International Ski Federation (FIS)’s Development Programme Nordic Summer Training Camps were recently organised in Val di Fiemme (Italy) and Stams (Austria). From 2 to 10 September, athletes from 12 different nations came together for the ski jumping and Nordic combined camps. The participating nations were: Bosnia Herzegovina, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. More info on www.fis-ski.com.

NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES

The Bahrain Olympic Committee organised an event to celebrate World Humanitarian Day which saw the participation of more than 250 participants on 20 August. With the theme “Sporting Spirit for Humanity”, the event featured races for kids and adults next to the National Stadium in Riffa. A race for people with special needs was also on the programme.

The Colombian NOC has announced that the Colombian medallists from the Olympic Games Rio 2016 have been honoured at a ceremony organised at the Senate. The Congress of the Republic of Colombia awarded them the Order of the Congress (rank of Knight), in the presence of its President, Óscar Mauricio Lizcano Arango (photo above). In addition, a sports administration course was held in Baranquilla at the beginning of September. Fifty-three sports leaders from regional and municipal sports bodies took part. More info on www.coc.org.co.

The Estonian Olympic Committee has created history by appointing the first non-sports person to a senior position as a standing member, with the announcement that legendary classical innovator Kristjan Jarvi will be using music to help inspire Estonian sporting success in the future. Kristjan has already been a major force in the Baltic States by creating “Sound Estonia”, and now he is looking at ways to bring all types of music – from classical to hip-hop – together in order to help the young especially get involved in sport. More info on www.eok.ee.

The NOC of Singapore informed us that the former Senior Minister of State for National Development and Finance and Olympian Dr Tan Eng Liang launched last July his autobiography, entitled “Simple Beginnings: Building a life of integrity, resilience and service”. IOC Member Ng Ser Miang, who was present at the launch, described Dr Tan’s passion and dedication in serving athletes as well as the South East Asian Games Federation. The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin and other former political colleagues and prominent members from the sports fraternity. More info on www.singaporeolympics.com.

The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee inaugurated the 39th Session of the National Olympic Academy from 25 to 28 August at the Sun Moon Lake Youth Activity Centre (photo above). With the theme “Review of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games”, the Session addressed issues concerning the Olympic Games from different angles as well as topics related to Olympic Agenda 2020. A total of 123 participants, including four students from Hong Kong, China, Japan and Malaysia joined the Session, and more than 23 per cent of the participants were veterans who served as group coordinators in the Session. In addition, outdoor experiences with triathlon sport and a variety of activities were also on offer. More info on www.tpenoc.net.

The Czech NOC announced the death of seven-time Olympic champion gymnast Věra Čáslavská (photo) on 30 August at the age of 74. A four-time world champion, she shone at the Olympic Games Tokyo 1964 and Mexico City 1968, where she won seven gold medals. In the years 1990-96, she was President of the Czech NOC. An IOC member from 1995 to 2001, Věra Čáslavská was one of the greatest personalities of Czech sport. More info on www.olympic.cz.

To celebrate Togo’s participation in the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the NOC of Togo invited the country’s people on an Olympic walk at the end of July. Organised by the NOC, this walk was a success thanks to the high turnout and the presence of athletes about to leave for the Games and national sports federations. Demonstration tennis, handball, basketball and volleyball matches were held at the Lomé Stadium, which hosted the finish line of the walk (photo above).

The first national planning workshop for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was held at the end of August at the National Polytechnic University of the Armed Force in Caracas. The President of the Venezuelan NOC, Eduardo Álvarez, accompanied by, among others, the Minister for Youth and Sport, Mervin Maldonado, underlined the importance of such activity, the aim of which is to launch a series of identical workshops and thus put in place a strategy for the next edition of the Summer Games. The subjects covered included the national training centre, planning high-level competitions, science and technology applied to sport, professional training and sports legislation.

ORGANISING COMMITTEES FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES

TOKYO 2020

On 24 August, the Olympic flag landed at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, from the city of Rio. The arrival of the flag in Tokyo was marked with a ceremony attended by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, President of the Japanese Olympic Committee and IOC Member Tsunekazu Takeda, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee CEO Toshiro Muto, Japanese Olympic Team Captain Saori Yoshida and Rio 2016 flagbearer and decathlete Keisuke Ushiro (photo above). Over the coming year, the Olympic flag will be exhibited in more than 62 sites around Tokyo and in the three prefectures affected by the 2011 East Japan earthquake, to further reinforce the momentum of support for the Games built up in Japan during the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Tokyo 2020 also announced the appointment of Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd. as a Tokyo 2020 Official Partner, the second domestic tier of its sponsorship programme. The company has been attributed the category “Construction and Residential Development”. This brings the total number of Tokyo 2020 domestic partners to 40, including 25 Official Partners. More info on www.tokyo2020.jp.

RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS

The Rio 2016 Paralympic Games are taking place from 7 to 18 September in the Carioca city. More than 4,000 athletes from more than 160 nations will take part. More info at the website of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) www.paralympic.org. Furthermore, the IPC development arm, the Agitos Foundation, will support projects aimed at helping refugees and earthquake survivors into Para sport as part of its 2016 Grant Support Programme (GSP). A total of 21 National Paralympic Committees, two International Organisations of Sports for the Disabled, one Regional Organisation and nine International Federations will receive a share of EUR 650,000 which has been made available to IPC members. The most compelling projects include a proposal by the Greek National Paralympic Committee to work with Serbia and Cyprus in helping some of the thousands of people who have sought refuge in those countries to discover Para sport. This includes working with partner agencies to spread the word about the Paralympic Movement amongst refugees, and offering training camps that will help towards their participation in local and national competitions.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has published its 2015 Annual Report, with the theme Shaping the Future for Clean Sport – a report that is an important element of WADA’s commitment to transparent and accountable governance. The Report provides a snapshot of WADA’s key 2015 activities and accomplishments in leading the collaborative worldwide campaign in support of the clean athlete. More info at www.wada-ama.org.