LANE ONE: Thomas Bach is changing the IOC into something totally new, but...
Meetings of the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board draw quite a bit of media attention, even though there is often not a single athlete in attendance. There are some former athletes, like gold-medal fencer Thomas Bach (GER), the IOC President since 2013, and American rowing bronze medalist Anita DeFrantz, who are members of the Executive […]
LANE ONE: Thomas Bach’s IOC wants “to get the couch potatoes off the...
The focus of the Olympic Movement has changed. It was, until very recently, to stage the greatest sports spectacle in the world. But in a 54-minute news conference following the second day of International Olympic Committee Executive Board meetings, IOC chief Thomas Bach clearly signaled that the technical organization of the Games will more and […]
LANE ONE: A call to eliminate guns from the Games, but that doesn’t...
The highly-respected Alan Abrahamson, one of the best commentators on Olympic sport, wrote on his 3WireSports site last Saturday that: “The Games and the values for which the Olympics purport to be about — excellence, friendship, respect and, by extension, tolerance — are the very thing that stand in marked contrast to an abhorrent shooting […]
THE BIG PICTURE: German Cartel Office relaxes IOC’s Rule 40 restrictions through 2026
A long administrative process that began in 2017 resulted in a decision issued Wednesday (27th) that “extended” the personal advertising activities of German athletes...
LANE ONE: The Paris 2024 legacy will be about athletes, but not Olympians
The Paris 2024 organizing committee created plenty of headlines last week with its announcement that it would ask the International Olympic Committee to approve four “added” sports to the Games: Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, Surfing and Breakdancing. The latter drew most of the attention and the Paris 2024 folks created a gaudy, 29-page press kit (here) […]
LANE ONE: Think politics and sports don’t mix? They mix, but pretty badly...
During his 20-year term as the head of the International Olympic Committee, Avery Brundage often insisted that “sports and politics don’t mix.” He found out, to his horror and that of the entire world, that they do mix and can mix very badly, as Palestinian terrorists murdered 11 members of the Israeli Olympic delegation at […]
LANE ONE: Burger King is not an Olympic sponsor, but it has the...
This is a busy time for the leadership and staff of the International Olympic Committee, even though there is no Olympic Games – winter or summer – in 2019. The IOC and especially the Executive Board have a long list of issues to be dealt with, including the continuing saga of Russia and its standing […]
LANE ONE: The Olympic Games cannot solve the world’s problems, as Paris 2024...
There was a time when modesty and humility were prized, and the idea that if you made reasonable promises and over-delivered on those promises, the results would be widely viewed as positive. Those concepts appear today to be as ancient as Egypt’s pyramids. Society in many countries appears divided along many lines and the social […]
TOKYO 2020 Panorama: Government costs are still an issue, but there will be lots...
The cost to the Japanese taxpayer for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo is holding steady – sort of – according to a Thursday...
SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Friday, 18 January 2019
Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of the week (so far) in the turbulent world of international sport: LANE ONE: Wednesday: There really is a change going on in Olympic bidding, if you believe what the Milan-Cortina bid has in their presentation submitted on 11 January. Its organizing […]
LANE ONE: The IOC can pat itself on the back (for now): the...
It’s so easy to be against everything these days. And should something positive happen, it’s usually discounted as unimportant, or those claiming responsibility grow longer arms to pat themselves – endlessly and loudly – on the back. But it’s worth taking notice of what has happened with the 2026 Olympic Winter Games bid from Italy, […]
SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Monday, 14 January 2019
Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened over the last 72 hours in Olympic sport (this time, with links!): LANE ONE/Sunday: The news that the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, is under serious investigation by a French judge concerning potential bribes paid to […]
5-RING CIRCUS: Calgary ends its 2026 Winter Games bid
The Calgary bid for the 2026 Winter Games was officially “suspended” by a 15-0 vote of the City Council, following the defeat of the citywide referendum last week. The GamesBids.com site noted that only two bids – Stockholm (SWE) and Milan-Cortina (ITA) – remain as bidders from the seven cities which originally signaled serious interest […]
LANE ONE: The numbers: Canada, Alberta and Calgary say the 2026 Games are...
The best summary of a wild day of rumors and reporting on Tuesday about whether the Calgary bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games would continue came from the Canadian Press: “A Calgary bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games appears virtually dead unless a financial rabbit is pulled out of a hat.” […]
LANE ONE: Bach’s Olympic vision takes shape: City-center spectacle and fewer venues
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach of Germany has plenty of critics, but say this for him: he has a vision. Since being elected to head the IOC in 2013, he immediately set out to reform the way that Olympic and Winter Games are bid for and organized, with his “Agenda 2020″ and “The New […]
LANE ONE: Bach calls Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games “superb” in his closing...
The third Youth Olympic Games closed in Buenos Aires (ARG) on Thursday evening and the nearly 4,000 athletes will now head back to their own countries with a lot of stories, experiences and pins. The event was a clear success on the ground for the organizers and the National Olympic Committee of Argentina, both headed […]
5-RING CIRCUS: It’s getting louder in Calgary
The decibel level in Calgary about its potential bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games is getting higher. In the aftermath of the Province of Alberta announcing that it would contribute not more than C$700 million, instead of the C$1 billion hoped for in the Calgary 2026 Draft Hosting Plan Concept, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi […]
5-RING CIRCUS: Alberta pledges C$700 million for Calgary 2026, but no more
Along with the drama in Stockholm, where the city’s 2026 bid will not have municipal government financial support, there was a significant development in Calgary’s 2026 bid. The provincial government of Alberta agreed to support the 2026 Games bid and the staging of the Games in Calgary, and will contribute C$700 million (~$538 million U.S.), […]
YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES: IOC ecstatic so far
The third edition of the International Olympic Committee’s YOG continues in Buenos Aires, with the Closing Ceremony scheduled for the 18th (Thursday). The IOC gave a news conference midway through the Games, headlined by Executive Director of the Olympic Games, Christophe Dubi (SUI; pictured). He was nothing short of ecstatic about the event, stating that […]
LANE ONE: Disconnected: Host city CEOs and the IOC on why anyone should...
Over the course of two days last week, a vice president of the International Olympic Committee and two chief executives of successful Olympic and Winter Games were asked about the benefits of hosting an Olympic Games. Amazingly, the three comments had very little in common. Here’s what they said: ∙ Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC Vice […]
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