(ATR) The IOC watchdog chief for the PyeongChang 2018 Games was absent from the EOC general assembly in Baku to meet with Korean organizers.
IOC co-comm chair Gunilla Lindberg was scheduled to deliver her yearly ANOC report to the EOC meeting in Baku.
Her last-minute absence fuels speculation of IOC concerns about PyeongChang’s Winter Olympic progress following a shake-up of the organizing committee’s leadership in the summer and cancellation of the IOC’s November check-up.
Earlier this week, POCOG announced that the IOC’s second coordination commission meeting of the year had not been necessary due to recent "intensive communications." A new date was set, March 17-19.
But the IOC clearly felt that an update was imperative on all aspects of PyeongChang 2018’s preparations.The Swedish IOC member explained to ATR why she had missed the EOC meeting.
"I am chairing a small project review with the leadership of PyeongChang as we had the whole IOC administration in Asia and as the co-comm was canceled we needed to have a meeting before the next IOC EB [ executive board]," she said in an email.
"And as I had updated all NOCs in Bangkok two weeks ago about ANOC activities, my report was not necessary in Baku," Lindberg added, speaking about the ANOC general assembly that took place in the Thai capital.
POCOG spokesman Muchol Shin had told ATR earlier this week that a full meeting of the organizing committee and IOC was not necessary because of POCOG’s recent updates to Olympic stakeholders and future planned discussions.
Reported by Mark Bissonin Baku
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