A little more than 1000 days before the next Summer Olympics, in Paris, Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), hinted at the dark clouds hanging over the Olympic future of boxing, in particular. In an interview given to Franceinfo on Thursday, the leader returned to the turmoil that is shaking this discipline, as well as weightlifting. “We are worried about these two sports because, in these federations, there are major governance problems,” he said. That is why we are monitoring the situation very closely and we will make a decision as soon as possible in the interests of the athletes. “
The results of an investigation, commissioned by the International Amateur Boxing Federation on the Olympic boxing tournament in Rio in 2016, and led by the professor of Canadian law Richard McLaren, which was at the origin of the revelations on Russian doping or embezzlement within the international weightlifting federation, have indeed thrown a stone in the pond. Eleven fights are the subject of serious suspicion of manipulation by the judges at the Rio 2016 Games. According to the British newspaper the “Daily Mail”, the result of the heavyweight final between the Englishman Joe Joyce and Tony Yoka, designated Olympic champion, would likely be reversed.
If boxing and weightlifting were not present in Paris, this would not necessarily open the door for other disciplines such as karate. “The discipline allocation process was transparent and ended before the Tokyo Games,” adds Thomas Bach. It would be too complicated to reopen this whole process. We are not just talking about karate because there are other international federations that have had hopes. At some point, the organizing committee must also be given security in order to better prepare the sites and the logistical affairs. “
