Lima Wins Encouragement from IOC

(ATR) The ratification of Lima to organize the 130th IOC Session in September is providing a confidence boost for organizers of the 2019 Pan American Games.

Veteran IOC member in Peru Ivan Dibos spoke to Around the Rings after returning to Lima April 14 from a visit to IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Dibos was in Lausanne for meetings with IOC President Thomas Bach and staff on plans for the IOC Session in the aftermath of 100-year flooding across Peru.

The IOC Executive Board on April 13 reaffirmed the choice it made two years ago to hold the Session in the Peruvian capital.

"That gives us more confidence ... now I am more relaxed," Dibos said about the show of support from the IOC. The highlight of the session will be the selection of a host for the 2024 Summer Olympics, a race between Los Angeles and Paris.

Dibos said that direct contact between IOC President Thomas Bach and the President of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski convinced the IOC Lima "is making great efforts and clarifying any doubts" about the conditions for the meeting from Sept. 13-16.

Dibos says he considers "logical" the IOC decision to trim the Olympism in Action forum scheduled for the session, postponing it to the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.

Two weeks ago, Dibos delivered an IOC donation of $600,000 to support the country's flood recovery efforts. So far 106 have been killed, more than 950,000 affected with 210,000 homes destroyed.

While the disaster has raised questions about whether Lima can remain the host of the 2019 Pan American Games, Dibos says a recent survey indicated that 68 percent of Peruvians are in favor of the multidisciplinary event. In his opinion, the recent position of President Kuczynski was decisive when he assured that sufficient resources for the reconstruction of the areas devastated by the floods.

The mayor of Lima, Luis Castañeda, who a month ago was in favor of canceling the Games, has just given a radical change to his position and assured that he will provide the facilities needed for the preparations.

After a visit to Lima two weeks ago, Spanish Olympic Committee President Alejandro Blanco expressed his full confidence in the success of the Pan American Games. Blanco was sent to Lima by the IOC to assess the city’s readiness for the session as well as the circumstances of the leadership of the Peruvian Olympic Committee.

President Jose Quinones is under a ban from sports leadership positions in Peru for four years while Francisco Boza, nephew of Dibos, has resigned as secretary general. ATR is told the government is pushing for the POC to advance its schedule to hold elections earlier than scheduled in June. The Executive Board of the POC is scheduled to meet April 18.

With reporting from Miguel Hernandez andEd Hula.

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