Lausanne, Switzerland (AP) – Thomas Bach says that he feels a rare calm in his last weeks as president of the IOC, even while a “new world order” earns speed before the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Bach managed the International Olympic Committee through two games locked in a world pandemic and several affected by Russian doping and military assault, among other crises.
His successor will be elected on March 20 and will inherit a CIO in financial security with the future Olympic hosts who today seem stable and reliable.
However, the biggest event for the next president of the IOC, Gamescould still question Bach's faith in the power of the Olympic Games to unite the world in peaceful competition and mutual acceptance.
“We have a new world order in the making, and this manufacturing … will not happen without scolding,” said Bach this week, without criticizing US President Donald Trump.
The Bach signature policies were parity between the sexes and the inclusive acceptance of the 206 national teams, as well as refugee athletes. Political neutrality is an ideal bach clings to the Trump warned to deny the visas Athletes according to the gender interpretations of the government.
“I am also convinced that President Trump and his administration will fully support the Olympic Games,” Bach told the Associated Press in a rare interview at the IOC headquarters.
“He likes sport, so I don't see any risk.”
The American people, added Bach, “appreciates and love that games are on sport, but they are more than sport. They will want to welcome athletes from around the world.”
The IOC defended female boxers Imane khelif And Lin Yu -Ting – The Olympic gold medalists from Paris. Both had been disqualified by the 2023 world championships managed by the International Boxing Association supported by Russia, which said they failed the eligibility tests.
“These two boxers were born as women, they were raised as women, they competed as women and nobody has ever claimed that they were transgender,” said Bach in the AP interview.
“What happened, there was a disinformation campaign led by Russia which then distorted the truth, the facts, and now we have this unhappy situation that these two athletes are considered to be transgender. But they are. Not.”
Before the Paris Olympic Games, Bach Informed “deeply disturbing” trends, including “close personal interests prevail over the rule of law”.
“What I see is a very stormy discussion in the United States,” said Bach in the AP. “But it is for citizens of the United States. Our values are very clear and on these values, the Olympic Games are based. ”
Pandemic and Russian doping
The presidency of Bach since 2013 saw two games affected by COVID-19; a shaded by Korean political tensions; Several affected by Russian doping and military assault; And we almost impose with a chaotic local organization team in Rio de Janeiro who drew the IOC into the voting allegations.
“I know the first period of my presidency when I have no existential problem of the Olympic Games or the Olympic movement on my desk,” said Bach.
The 71 -year -old German lawyer and 1976 Olympic gold medalist at the fencing left in June.
“I am in good shape and very happy in great health.”
Future commercial defense
A key decision at the start of the Bach presidency was to extend NBC's dissemination rights to the United States until 2032. The renewal or search for a new partner is a major decision for the next president. Bach suggested that a free network is important.
“You can say streaming broadcasting:” They pay so much money, let's go for streaming. But what does that mean for our values? Bach said. “The Olympic Games must be accessible to everyone and not only to those who can afford it.”
The IOC must also update its list of high -level sponsors after Three from Japan left last year. Does the IOC take a view of the signing of an Elon Musk company as Starlink?
“From what I see, he is busy with other things than to think of Olympic sponsorship,” said Bach. “I have not studied this kind of question.”
Ice hockey at the 2026 Olympic Games
Huer the American anthem at sporting events becomes a routine in Canada, and this week, outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would not stop.
A American hockey game against Canada is probably next February at the Milan-Cortina winter games in Ampezzo 2026, perhaps for the gold medal.
“This (hué) would not be excellent television and it would be against Olympic values,” said Bach, predicting “all the teams, all the athletes, will appreciate the respect and support of the public”.
Russia has been prohibited from all team sports in Paris and its path is not clear in ice hockey, the favorite winter sport of Vladimir Putin.
The broader question of Russian participation in Milan-Cortina is for the successor to Bach, although his administration has already urged winter sports bodies with general prohibitions on the Russians to see them again.
“The mission of the Olympic movement is to unify,” he said. “This is something that winter sports federations should study very carefully.”
Diplomatic skills
Bach and the predecessor Jacques Rogge were Olympic athletes who got up to represent the IOC and meet various heads of state.
“This is one of the privileges because the president of the IOC is that you get everyone on the phone,” said Bach. “I had no situation where someone said,” I'm not interested in talking “.”
The late Henry Kissinger “gave very precious advice” in the diplomacy of the real world.
Espionage target?
Bach's potential as the future Olympic chief was clear from 1981 when he and Sebastian Coe, a candidate to succeed him, helped to represent the athletes at a key meeting in Baden-Baden, West Germany. He then worked for Horst Dassler and Adidas when they were major power brokers in world sports and were watched for the Stasi, Secret police from Eastern Germany.
When asked if there was a Stasi file on him, Bach said, “Not that I know it. I can't imagine.”
Bach had warm relationships with Russian President Putin during the 2014 Sochi winter games. Bach and the Olympic Games have been targets of Russian disinformation, cyber attacks and false deep videos in the last decade of sanction The doping scandal supported by the state and the benefits of the invasion of Ukraine.
Voting
Bach's inheritance includes the modification of how hosts are chosen. No more blockbuster competitions are vulnerable to the purchase of votes.
“The atmosphere was simply not clean, not sober. It put all the credibility of the CIO in doubt.”
There was no allegation of reprehensible acts in the way in which the French Alps, Brisbane and Salt Lake City were selected as hosts of the Olympic Games from 2030 to 2034.
Summer holidays
The last day of Bach after a three -month presidential transition was June 23, officially the Olympic day.
After that?
“The first four weeks, I guess I'm going to sleep,” he said. “Then, I will make a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela alone and I hope that I will then inspire for my future.”
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AP Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
