(ATR) On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, IOC president Jacques Rogge tells Around the Rings the horrific events strengthened the Olympic ideals of world peace.
"These events strengthened the determination of the Olympic Movement to contribute more than ever to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit," the IOC leader says in a statement released to Around the Rings.
"The Games are a celebration of peace and it is our duty to protect it," says Rogge.
"9/11 changed our lives and was a brutal reminder that no place in the world is safe and that terrorism can hit us anytime, anywhere," he says.
The attacks came just six months before the start of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics—Rogge’s first as IOC president.
In the hours after the 9/11 attacks, Rogge received assurances from the highest echelon of U.S. government that the Games would be safe, confirmed in a later meeting with the U.S. President.
"Right after 9/11 I went to see President George Bush to talk about the security arrangements for the Salt Lake City Games, which were to be staged only a few months later. The President reassured us on the ability of the United States to secure the Games. In fact, the arrangements that they had planned for prior to the tragedy were already covering every potential contingency and did not need major adjustments."
"The IOC has had to deal with terrorism in the past" Rogge said in his statement.
"The tragic death of Israeli athletes in Munich in 1972 was a defining moment in many ways, not least of all on the security front. Since then, the IOChas put security on the top of its agenda, relying of course on the host city government to put in place measures in the hope of avoiding such a tragedy in the future."
The Salt Lake City Olympics were free of trouble. And coming just months from 9/11, with wounds still sore, these Games on U.S. soil maybe helped boost spirits.
The Games even provided a moment of symbolic homage to the tragedy. During opening ceremony, eight U.S. athletes carried a flag flown over Ground Zero into Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The IOC initially would not allow the flag to be carried due to bans on political statements at the Olympics. The IOC relented after the flag was paraded following the main procession, not as part of the ceremony protocol.
Homepage photo from Getty Images.
Written by Ed Hula III.
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