Online Reporter
OUTGOING International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, who is set to receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan, has offered strong support for his successor, Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe.
Coventry, elected in March, is expected to become the first female and first African president of the IOC.
“I know that she has this very clear compass of the Olympic values,” Bach said. “She has been elected because she has the professional and human qualities to be a very good president of the IOC and lead the Olympic movement into an even better future. Therefore, I’m really very at ease and very, very confident.”
Bach also said the Asian nation, Japan, would be “very much welcome” to host a future Games, provided concerns surrounding corruption are fully addressed.
In an interview with Kyodo News ahead of his retirement, Bach acknowledged Japan’s ongoing role in the Olympic movement but said any future bid would require assurances of reform, following scandals linked to the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Sapporo withdrew its bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics in October 2023 after a series of bribery and bid rigging scandals linked to the Games, which had been postponed by a year due to the pandemic. The northern city struggled to regain public trust in the bid’s credibility.
“(A future hosting bid is welcome) if we can be sure on the IOC side that these Japanese business practices, this kind of corruption, is over and has been addressed,” said Bach, who will become honorary president for life of the IOC in June. “We understand what happened there within Japan because of the business practices of some Japanese business people . . . We also hope that this leads to a clarification and adaptation of Japanese business practices.”
Bach praised Japan’s continued presence in global sport, citing its role as a host nation for major international events, including the Asian Games, and the recent success of Japanese athletes, who won a record 20 gold medals and 45 overall at last summer’s Paris Olympics.
Reflecting on his presidency, which began in 2013, Bach said he believes his decisions during a turbulent period including the pandemic, doping crises, and international conflicts, were made in good faith.
“I could help the Olympic movement to overcome so many challenges, and I could make it possible for the athletes to have the Olympic Games,” he said. “I was in the position you need to be in as an IOC president.”
“Sometimes I was a little bit tough or too tough on one or the other because I absolutely wanted to get there and was demanding a lot… (but) they always realised that it was done with good intentions and that it was done to accomplish the IOC mission.”
He also welcomed the possibility of Japan hosting the newly introduced Olympic Esports Games and described the conclusion of the Paris Olympics as the highlight of his tenure.
Following the closing ceremony, he said he realised the Olympic Agenda had been fulfilled, delivering what he described as a “sustainable, urban, young, joyous” Games. — Sports Reporter/insidethegames.com
