Major Challenges for IOC Board Ahead of Rio 2016

(ATR) Rio 2016 problems, Russian doping scandals and Tokyo 2020 bid vote-buying allegations are on a crammed IOC Executive Board agenda.

The IOC’s 2024 evaluation commission will also provide an update on the four candidate cities for the Games before a decision is made on whether to allow all of them to proceed to the next stage of the bidding race.

With the Rio Olympics opening in two months and repercussions from the Tokyo 2020 bid payments scandal causing shockwaves around the Olympic Movement, there is huge media interest in the IOC’s three-day meeting which opened on Wednesday.

The IOC tells Around the Rings that 120 media are expected in Lausanne to cover the EB; 30 from Japan.

The political and economic upheaval in Brazil, accompanied by troubles affecting venues and infrastructure plus concerns around the Zika virus, will provide food for thought for IOC leaders.

Rio 2016 president Carlos Nuzman and chair of the IOC evaluation commission Nawal El Moutawakel will report to the IOC board on Wednesday.

Another major headache for the IOC are ramifications of the Japanese investigation into Tokyo 2020 bid vote-buying allegations. The probe into possible illegal payments totaling $2 million made by the Tokyo bid to Singaporean company Black Tidings for consultancy work could be wrapped up by the start of July.

The IOC is cooperating with French prosecutors who are investigating the Tokyo 2020 bid payments as part of a wider probe into the disgraced former IAAF president Lamine Diack and his son Papa Diack.

Tokyo 2020 tells ATR that president Yoshiro Mori and CEO Toshiro Muto have traveled to Lausanne. They are scheduled to update the IOC’s ruling body on Thursday. IOC vice president John Coates said last week that the Olympic committee viewed the allegations "very seriously".

Both Mori and Muto can expect to be grilled by Japanese and international media about the scandal.

The IOC is also reviewing the five additional sports proposed for the Tokyo Games and may make a recommendation to the IOC Session meeting in Rio next month about whether to approve them as a package.

New PyeongChang 2018 president Hee-beom Lee is making his debut in Lausanne to give a progress report. He will meet IOC president Thomas Bach for the first time since being appointed to replace POCOG president Yang-ho Cho last month.

Alexander Zhukov, the head of the IOC’s coordination commission for the Beijing 2022, will provide his first report on Games progress.

Developments related to WADA’s investigation into a state-supported cover-up of doping samples at the Sochi 2014 Olympics and the wave of Russian doping positives from Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games retesting – 55 so far – are sure to come up when WADA president Craig Reedie reports to the IOC board.

On Friday, the IOC will announce further details about nominations of new members with a decision due at the Session in Rio. The Refugee Olympic Team to participate under the Olympic flag at the Aug. 5 to 21 Games will also be confirmed.

Reported by Mark Bisson

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.