ANOC Supports Wrestling; Greek/Turkish Cooperation for Istanbul

ANOC Backs Wrestling

Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah said the Association of National Olympic Committees endorsed wrestling’s bid to return to the Olympics.

Al-Sabah made the comments in Sydney following a meeting of the ANOC Executive Council.

''We are very keen to maintain wrestling in the sport program,'' he was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press.

''I have confidence that the session will vote in favor of maintaining wrestling.''

John Coates, president of the Australian Olympic Committee presented Al-Sabah with the AOC Order of Merit on Monday. A statement from the AOC supplied to Around the Rings said the AOC leadership honored him "for his remarkable contribution to the development of sport." Coates noted that the only other non-Australian to receive the honor is IOC President Jacques Rogge.

As part of the ANOC Council meeting, the Kuwait IOC member will be part of a team inaugurating the new AOC headquarters. A ceremony is planned for Wednesday with New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell also in attendance.

The AOC moved into its new office on Monday at the Museum of Contemporary Art, right next to Circular Quay in downtown Sydney.

Greek Government Backs Istanbul 2020

The Prime Minister of Greece signed an agreement to back Istanbul 2020.

Antonis Samaras was in Istanbul with Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the High Level Cooperation Council over the weekend.

A statement from Istanbul 2020 says the offices of both leaders announced the PMs signed a document agreeing to "engage in cooperation with regard to the technical and related aspects in the organisation of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games" and "exploreways of enhancing the benefits of the Olympics for the two countries" and the entire region if Istanbul is awarded the Games.

Greece and Turkey have had tense relationships at times.

"The ties between Turkey and Greece have been strengthened today, thanks to the power of the Olympic Movement to build bridges," said Hasan Arat, Istanbul 2020 bid chairman. "The closer cooperation between our countries will be a valuable and lasting legacy of our bid."

Turkish IOC member Ugur Erdener noted that Greece is the "spiritual home" of the Olympics, adding: "we have had very close relations with Greece on sport for many years. I believe that this agreement will create even more opportunities."

Tokyo and Madrid are the other 2020 bid cities.

Own the Podium Departure

The head of winter sport for Canada’s Own the Podium program, Ken Read, announced he is stepping down—less than a year before the Sochi Olympics.

Read was contracted through 2014.

"It was time to step away and move on," he said on Monday.

"I've been with OTP in one form or another for a decade, that's a long time.

"I'm absolutely 100 percent dedicated to what OTP and the concept of what it does for sport in Canada, but I also believe that you're multi-tasking, dealing with a lot of sports. There's a time where you can be doing that and then you step aside and give other people opportunities."

Own the Podium is designed to coordinate funding and investment opportunities for high-level Canadian sport.

For Sochi, the target was to top the medal tally at the Olympics and finish third in the gold medal count.

Written by Ed Hula III.

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