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Michael Mronz © DPA German Press Agency
(sid). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) meets in Mumbai, India for its 141st IOC session. At the general meeting starting on Sunday – the executive will meet from today – important topics will be discussed. We answer the most important questions.
?What is happening to Russia and Belarus?
Less than ten months before the start of the Summer Olympics in Paris (July 26 to August 11), the most pressing question is whether Russia and Belarus will take part in the competitions next summer. While the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine continues unabated, the long-held position in world sport is no longer clear. The world football association FIFA and the European football union UEFA recently decided to allow Russian U17 teams back into their competitions – even if the UEFA decision now seems to be overturned again. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) decided at the end of September to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in the 2024 Paralympics in neutral status.
?What is the IOC’s stance on the issue? And what to expect in Mumbai?
German IOC President Thomas Bach had already made it clear that he believed it was wrong to punish athletes for the actions of their government. “We have a mission to bring all the world’s athletes together in peaceful competition,” he said. However, the IOC has made it clear that a decision in the matter will not be made at this time. So: Even after Mumbai there will still be no clarity.
?Which new sports could be added to the program in 2028?
The Olympic program for Paris 2024 is in place and the one for Los Angeles 2028 is being worked on. The organizers of LA28 submitted their proposed list of new sports on Monday in advance of the IOC session: the highly popular divisions in the USA: baseball/softball (most recently in the program in Tokyo in 2021), lacrosse (in the program in 1904 and 1908), flag football (“disembodied « Football variant/premiere) as well as the popular sports of cricket (in the program in 1900) and squash (premiere) are on the wish list. How many and what wishes will the IOC fulfill? It’s questionable, although all five candidates have good chances. But squash, for example, has already applied four times in a row without success. The decision should be made in Mumbai.
?Which sports have to be trembling?
The IOC published the basic canon of 28 sports for Los Angeles in February. This did not include three divisions that were able to demonstrate satisfactory developments to the IOC through improvements and reforms before the session in Mumbai and could therefore possibly still be accepted. Weightlifting will only be included in Paris in 2024 with reservations after endless doping and ongoing association disputes. Boxing also has to tremble after major association chaos, although the Americans would like to have the traditional division there. And the modern pentathlon has to convince the IOC with its new concept (steeplechase instead of horse riding).
?What personnel decisions are pending?
An important one from a German perspective: sports manager Michael Mronz has been proposed by the IOC Executive Board as a new IOC member. The 56-year-old from Cologne is one of the eight people who will be voted on in Mumbai. His election is considered a formality. Mronz, whose application was welcomed by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), said: “The IOC’s vision of creating a better world through sport has been a conviction and guiding principle throughout my personal and professional career for decades.”
?What significance does the conference location Mumbai have?
A far-reaching one. India is the most populous country in the world, but a developing country in terms of sport – and India wants to change that vehemently. The Cricket World Cup is currently underway there, a huge event, especially in Asia. And by hosting this event, the Indians want to show that they can handle such an event – in 2010, the Commonwealth Games in Delhi turned into an absolute chaos event. The fact that India is allowed to host an IOC session for the first time since 1983, back in New Delhi, is also an indication of a possible bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics, then possibly in competition with Germany. “It is a huge opportunity and reflects India’s growing strength in the Olympic movement,” said IOC President Bach on the awarding of the sessions to Mumbai. PHOTO: DPA
2023-10-11 19:34:14
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