2021 has been a year unlike any other in the sporting world thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but the Olympic Movement should be grateful for the strong leadership of International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach.
Bach has driven the Movement forward with expertise and success, while also staying true to the core value the Movement represents.
He has helped modernize the Games with the inclusion of skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing in Tokyo, all of which proved to be very popular, and will also be a part of Paris 2024 and LA28, while also putting longtime Olympic sports boxing and weightlifting, which are troubled with doping and leadership issues, on notice by excluding them from the LA28 program, but at the same time providing them with a path back into the IOC’s good graces.
Bach has proven time and again he is the right man to guide the IOC through these turbulent times, and his knowledge and leadership have proven invaluable to the Olympic Movement.
With an eye into the future, he has never lost sight of what is truly important to the Games, and that is the athletes themselves. The Tokyo 2020 Games were postponed a year due to COVID-19 and even though no fans from outside Japan were allowed to attend, the Games were a commercial and financial success. Television ratings were strong and the host country thrived, claiming 58 medals, including 27 golds, a record for Japan.
As the Olympic world turns their eyes to Beijing in the new year, Bach remains confident the Games will be safe and secure.
“We are looking forward to a successful Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, and we have great confidence built on our experience that we will stage safe and secure Olympic Winter Games for everybody,” he said in a statement.
As Beijing becomes the first city to ever host both the Winter and Summer Games, China has seen close to 300 million people became engaged in winter sports.
“These Winter Games will open a new era for winter sports globally,” Bach said.
The pandemic is still ongoing and surely difficult times and issues will arise again, but Bach is well poised to guide the IOC into 2022 and beyond.
Mr. President, well done!
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