Olympics
IOC MAY SANCTION ITALY’S NOC (CONI) OVER CEDING POWERS TO GOVERNMENT AGENCY
BY PATRICK O’KANE
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has sent a letter to the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) raising serious concerns for its role in the future of Italian sport and issued a warning of suspension should the issues not be rectified promptly.
The letter,
which insidethegames has seen, served as a stark reminder of
the IOC’s power to a National Olympic Committee which, just six weeks ago,
celebrated a successful bid campaign to host the 2026 Winter Olympic and
Paralympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
At the end of 2018 the Italian Parliament approved a law, which would see a separate Government-controlled organisation set-up to distribute funds to the country’s national governing bodies.
This body, called “Sport e Salute” – or Sport and Health – would allegedly reduce CONI’s role to only handling preparation for the Olympic Games.
Sports Village Square however notes that the move in Italy is a common feature in Africa where the various national Olympic committees have no direct control over national sporting federations.
The Italian
Parliament plans could also see CONI’s annual budget reduced from €400 million
(£353 million/$453 million) to just €40 million (£35 million/$45 million).
In January, CONI President Giovanni Malagò warned it was important that CONI worked with the Italian Parliament to find a quick solution to the approved law changes but seven months on, nothing appears to have been resolved.
In the three-page letter, signed by James Macleod, the director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Relations, the IOC raised issue with the impact of Italian Parliament approving plans to set up a Government-controlled organisation which would distribute funds to the country’s national governing bodies.
The preservation of CONI’s autonomy, a basic foundation of the Olympic Charter, is the key issue at stake for the IOC.
Addressed to Malagò, the letter expressly noted article 27.9 of the Olympic Charter: “The IOC Executive Committee can take the most appropriate decisions for the protection of the Olympic Movement in the country of a NOC, including the suspension or withdrawal of the recognition of such NOC if the constitution, the law or other rules in the nation in question.
“The IOC Executive Committee will offer this NOC the opportunity to be heard before making such a decision.”
The Italians were reminded that “belonging to the Olympic Movement requires respect for the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC” and the letter reiterated the role of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to ensure compliance with the Olympic Charter in their own countries.
It served to reinforce CONI’s responsibilities with an additional warning that NOC’s could collaborate with Non-Governmental Organisations, provided they did not take an action contrary to the Olympic Charter.
The letter also reflected the NOC’s autonomous responsibility in the determination and control of the rules of sport, the definition of the structure and the governance of their organisations.
CONI were reminded that NOC’s should “resist pressures of any kind, including, but not limited to, political, legal, religious or economic pressures that could prevent them from fulfilling the Olympic Charter”.
The letter reflected on the fact that the autonomy of sport was formally established in a Resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations, adopted in New York in 1994, referring to the development of sports in a country requiring positive collaboration in order to build relationships in fruitful terms and complementary actions with benefits for sports and athletes.
The IOC called on CONI to resolve its complaints with the Italian Government at its earliest opportunity and were open to hosting a joint meeting at Olympic House in Lausanne this week, offering to provide further clarification and assistance where necessary.
However, the Italian Parliament breaks for two weeks of holiday at the close of business tomorrow, so any immediate resolution looks unlikely.
CONI declined to comment on the letter.
-insidethegames
Roy Jones Jr has been handed the Olympic gold medal he was controversially denied in 1988 in an extraordinary act of sportsmanship by the South Korean fighter who beat him.
Hall of Fame boxer Jones shared a video on Wednesday from two years ago that showed Park Si-hun visiting the American’s ranch in Pensacola, Florida to present him with the light middleweight gold medal.
“I had the gold medal, but I want to give it back to you. It belongs to you,” Park said in the video through his son, who translated.
Jones, who was overcome with emotion by the gesture, covered his face with his hand before saying: “Wow, that is crazy.”
Their match at the Seoul Olympics remains one of boxing’s most contentious moments as Jones appeared to dominate the fight but lost to Park by a 3-2 decision that drew instant criticism and sparked enduring controversy.
Despite losing the gold medal match, Jones was selected as the Val Barker Trophy winner as the best boxer of the 1988 Olympics.
Jones went on to become a four-division world champion and is regarded as one of the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighters of all time.
“In 1988, I was robbed of the gold medal in what became one of the biggest controversies in boxing history,” Jones wrote in his Instagram post.
“By the grace of God, a couple of years ago, the man who won that medal made the trip from South Korea to my home to return it to me, feeling it was rightfully mine.
“I hope you enjoy this moment as much as I did.”
-Reuters
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U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday creating a White House Olympics task force to handle security and other issues related to the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, an administration official told Reuters.
The task force, made up of members from Trump’s cabinet and government agencies, will coordinate federal, state and local government work on transportation, the official said.
It also will “streamline visa processing and credentialing for foreign athletes, coaches, officials, and media,” the official said in an email.
The United States will host the Olympics in Los Angeles in three years. Trump, a Republican who lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden, has expressed pleasure that his second term will coincide with the Olympics and the World Cup.
“During his first term, President Trump was instrumental in securing America’s bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The president considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle in his second term,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Monday.
Last month organizers of the Los Angeles games released the first look at the Olympic competition schedule . The city had also hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984.
“The creation of this task force marks an important step forward in our planning efforts and reflects our shared commitment to delivering not just the biggest, but the greatest Games the world has ever seen in the summer of 2028,” Casey Wasserman, the chair and president of LA28, said in a statement.
–Reuters
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By DAVID LEE
Home is many places for swimmer Adaku Nwandu, who was born in China, lives in Singapore and wears the Nigeria flag on her swimsuit.
And it is at her current home in Singapore that the 17-year-old is making her debut at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH).
In the second heat of the 100m freestyle at the WCH Arena, the teenager, who has a Nigerian father and Chinese mother, led at the turn before finishing third in 1min 0.89sec – she eventually placed 59th out of 82 athletes overall.
After her race, Adaku shared with The Straits Times that she was born and raised in Shanghai, and started swimming when she was eight. Interestingly, it was ice cream that kept her in the sport.
Adaku, who still has the 50m freestyle heats on Aug 2, said: “At a school competition, I didn’t do so well and I asked my dad if we could make a deal. He said if I do better, he would buy me ice cream once every week, and that’s a promise we have kept with each other. And that’s what brought me here.”
In 2023, the family moved to Singapore due to her mother’s work posting. With her fluent Mandarin and love for Asian and spicy food, it did not take long for her to pick up Singlish and enjoy local delights like chicken rice and chilli crab.
She said: “We came here mainly because of my mother’s work, and also because the swimming scene back where I lived in China was a little bit toxic, so she also thought Singapore would be a new experience and better for my swimming.”
By then, she had already committed to representing Nigeria after its aquatics association contacted her after the National Sports Festival in Asaba, where the then 16-year-old was part of the national record-breaking women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team.
But Singapore is where she has been honing her swimming skills, as she has set her 50m and 100m freestyle long- and short-course Nigeria national records at meets here.
Noting her improvements, Singapore swimming coach and performance director Gary Tan said: “Adaku has been participating in our system for a while, and we hope it helps her develop as a swimmer and achieve what she wants while training in Singapore with her school (German European School Singapore).”
For someone who is inspired by Olympic champions David Popovici, Caeleb Dressel and Adam Peaty for “their dedication and the way they are able to take breaks for themselves to improve and get back to the water”, qualifying for Paris 2024 on ranking points was a dream come true.
Her Olympic debut was also unforgettable as her swimsuit ripped 20 minutes before her 50m freestyle heat, but she managed to finish second in her heat and 33rd out of 78th overall in 26.62 seconds, just 0.03 of a second off her personal best.
Back in Singapore, Adaku, who is in the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme at her school, realised that she needed more of such resilience to reach her goals.
The swimmer, who also plays for the school’s volleyball team, said: “I had a lot of improvement the first year I came to Singapore. But this past year has been especially hard for me with family problems and also school. The workload in my first year of IB made it hard to balance training and school.
“Especially in the next year, I want to focus more on swimming and try to get some new personal bests because this year I just plateaued. I’m looking forward to training harder and preparing for my next competition and hopefully qualify for the next Olympics.”
-Strait Times, Singapore
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