ioc Archives - Iran News Daily

Tokyo Olympics to Be Hold Regardless of Pandemic: IOC VP

reporter 1222 — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 06:11:32 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The postponed Olympics of Tokyo will go ahead next year regardless of the coronavirus pandemic, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice president, John Coates, told AFP on Monday, vowing they will be the “Games that conquered COVID.”

The Olympics have never been canceled outside of the world wars and Coates, speaking in a phone interview, was adamant that the Tokyo Games will start on their revised date.

“Tokyo Olympics games will take place with or without COVID pandemic. The Games will start on July 23 next year,” said Coates, who heads IOC’s Coordination Commission for the Tokyo Games.

“The Games were going to be, their theme, the Reconstruction Games after the devastation of the tsunami,” he said, referring to a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan in 2011.

“Now very much these will be the Games that conquered COVID, the light at the end of the tunnel.”

In a landmark decision, the 2020 Olympics were postponed because of the global march of the pandemic and they are now set to open on July 23, 2021.

But Japan’s borders are still largely closed to foreign visitors and a vaccine is months or even years away, feeding speculation about whether the Games are feasible at all.

Japanese officials have made clear they would not delay them a second time beyond 2021.

There are signs that public enthusiasm in Japan is waning after a recent poll found just one in four Japanese want them to go ahead next year, with most backing either another postponement or a cancelation.

‘Monumental task’

Coates said the Japanese government “haven’t dropped the baton at all” following the postponement, despite the “monumental task” of putting the event back a year.

“Before COVID, (IOC president) Thomas Bach said this is the best prepared Games we’ve ever seen, the venues were almost all finished, they are now finished, the village is amazing, all the transport arrangements, everything is fine,” he said.

“Now it’s been postponed by one year, that’s presented a monumental task in terms of re-securing all the venues… something like 43 hotels we had to get out of those contracts and re-negotiate for a year later.

“Sponsorships had to be extended a year, broadcast rights.”

With much of that work underway, or accomplished, a task force has been set up to look at the different scenarios in 2021 – from how border controls will affect the movement of athletes, to whether fans can pack venues and how to keep stadiums safe.

The group, comprising Japanese and IOC officials, met for the first time last week.

“Their job now is to look at all the different counter-measures that will be required for the Games to take place,” said Coates, the long-time president of the Australian Olympic Committee.

“Some countries will have it (COVID) under control, some won’t. We’ll have athletes therefore coming from places where it’s under control and some where it is not.

“There’s 206 teams… so there’s a massive task being undertaken on the Japanese side.”

Japan has already ploughed billions of dollars into the Olympics, with the delay only adding to the cost.

Coates said the IOC was doing its part, putting in “something like an extra $800 million to support the international federations, whose income isn’t happening this year, and national Olympic committees.”

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IOC: Athletes Can Protest Racism in Dignified Way

reporter 1222 — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 07:58:43 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will consult with athletes before making a ruling on whether medal winners will be allowed to kneel on the podium as an anti-racist gesture.

After the IOC executive board reaffirmed its commitment to non-discrimination, the president, Thomas Bach, said, “We have fully supported the initiative for the IOC Athletes’ Commission to have a dialogue with athletes around the world to explore different ways for how Olympic athletes can express their support for the principles enshrined in the Olympic charter in a dignified way.

“We also agree with the athletes’ commission that we must always respect the Olympic spirit. This means we must make a difference between such support for the principles enshrined in the Olympic charter and potentially divisive demonstrations.”

The IOC outlined before the Tokyo Olympics Games were moved back to 2021 that kneeling would not be allowed but has softened its stance in light of the NFL changing its position following the Black Lives Matter protests in the US and athletes across other sports, including football, also showing solidarity with the movement by taking a knee.

When pressed, Bach said: “I will not pre-empt in any way this consultation the athletes’ commission will have. It would not be fair if now I make a statement and they are giving directions or instructions in this respect.

“Let the athletes’ commission and the athletes discuss it themselves and then come up with the relevant proposals.”

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Nasirshalal gets London 2012 gold after Ukrainian lifter disqualified

reporter 1222 — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 11:58:24 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s Navab Nasirshalal is expected to receive the men’s 105kg gold medal of London 2012 Olympics after the Ukrainian lifter who had won the gold was confirmed disqualified by the International Olympics Committee (IOC).

In a Thursday statement, IOC announced that “Oleksiy TOROKHTIY, 33, of Ukraine, competing in the men’s 105kg weightlifting event in which he ranked 1st and was awarded the gold medal, has been disqualified from the Olympic Games London 2012. Re-analysis of Torokhtiy’s samples from London 2012 resulted in a positive test for the prohibited substances Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone.”

The statement notes that Torokhtiy “is disqualified from the events in which he participated upon the occasion of the 2012 Olympic Games, namely, the men’s 105kg weightlifting event, … and has the medal, diploma, and pin obtained in the men’s 105kg weightlifting event withdrawn and is ordered to return them.”

Torokhtiy was initially handed a provisional suspension last December when the IOC announced the failure.

Iran’s Nasirshalal had won the silver medal of the event with a total of 411 kilograms, one kilogram less than Torokhtiy gold medallist.

The reanalysis program for the samples from London 2012 will continue until the end of the statute of limitations period is reached in 2020.

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Indian Minister Says New Delhi to Buy Iran Oil in Sanctions Era

reporter 1222 — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 07:56:33 +0000

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said two state refiners have placed orders for importing crude oil from Iran in November, the month when US sanctions on Iranian oil purchases take effect.
“Two of our oil companies have made nominations to purchase Iranian oil in November,” Pradhan said on Monday, the Economic Times reported.

“We do not know if we will get a waiver (from US sanctions) or not.”

Later, talking to reporters, he said India has its own energy requirements which it has to fulfill.

“We will be guided by our national interest,” he said.

Indian Oil Corp (IOC) Chairman Sanjiv Singh said his company is among the two which have placed an order for November.

“We have ordered for our usual quantity of oil,” he said.

IOC and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) together have placed the order for 1.25 million tons (MT) of crude oil from Iran.

Singh said options for paying for Iranian oil are under discussions.

US sanctions against Iran will kick in from November 4, which will block payment routes.

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Thomas Bach welcomes Iran’s NOC President Salehi Amiri

reporter 1222 — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 07:10:03 +0000

Reza Salehi Amiri, President of Iran’s National Olympic Committee (NOC), was warmly received by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

In the meeting, Bach praised the rise of women’s sport in Iran and expressed delight at the involvement of young people in sports.

Bach also pointed to his trip to Iran. “In my home, I have four photos from Isfahan that remind me of Iran’s culture and civilization.”

The IOC President further said that the meeting would help authorities make better decisions about common issues between the two committees. “We can improve our understanding of each other’s conditions as well.”

The German president of IOC expressed hope in Iran’s future movement in sports, saying, “Sports have had positive impact on your society in recent years. Our goal is to promote knowledge and enthusiasm among the younger generation in your society.”

Praising female athletes in Iran in recent years, Bach added, “With the support of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Iranian women are allowed to take part in the international competitions. Your women played a key role in Iran’s accomplishment at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.”

On the U.S. sanctions regime on Iran, Bach reassured that the IOC would stand by the nation of Iran as “the philosophy of sport is the promotion of world peace.”

“We will not support those who want to harm Iran and will stay loyal to the goal of Olympic Movement in order to support national committees,” he stated.

In his closing remarks, Bach held out hope to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

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Iran NOC, world IOC to expand coop.

reporter 1222 — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 15:30:17 +0000

In a meeting between National Olympic Committee of Iran (NOC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Indonesia, the two sides stressed expanding bilateral cooperation.

The President of National Olympic Committee of Iran (NOC) Reza Salehi Amiri met with the directors of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) on the sidelines of the 2018 Asian games in Jakarta, Indonesia.

At the beginning of the meeting, the IOC representatives officially invited the President of National Olympic Committee of Iran to hold a meeting with President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach next month.

Referring to the long-standing cooperation between Iran NOC and the OIC, the NOCs directors hailed Iran’s National Olympic Committee as one of the most important and influential Olympic committees in Asia and the world and called for the development of relations and cooperation between the two sides.

They also pointed to the fields of cooperation such as education, solidarity, trade and marketing, and expressed the IOC’s readiness to further support those areas.

Reza Salehi Amiri, for his part, expressed his happiness with meeting and vowed that Iran is ready to participate in IOC training programs, especially in field of sports such as wrestling, weight lifting, taekwondo in countries that those sports have not been developed yet.

Salehi Amiri stressed that Iran will participate in the IOC training programs with the aim of strengthening solidarity, adding “in addition to dispatching the best Iranian coaches and instructors to the IOC training courses, we call for special classes with the aim of increasing the knowledge of coaches and athletes.”

At the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to make preparations for the meeting between Iran’s NOC and IOC presidents in September, and to hold particular meetings in specialized fields within the IOC framework.

Reza Salehi Amiri and Thomas Bach are scheduled to hold a meeting at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne on September 12.

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IOC President Bach Extends Sympathy with Iran Quake Victims

reporter 1222 — Sat, 18 Nov 2017 06:13:26 +0000

TEHRAN – President of International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach sent his deep condolences to head of Iran’s National Olympic Committee Kiumars Hashemi in connection with the deadly earthquake in western province of Kermanshah.

The 7.3 magnitude quake occurred in the western region of Iran and caused numerous human victims, mutilation and large scale destructions.

“It was with immense sadness that I received the news of the terrible devastation that the recent earthquake brought to your Country. Please accept my condolences to your fellow citizens for the loss of their loved ones,” Bach wrote in a letter.

“The Olympic Movement stands ready to help Iran in whatever way we can, Sport can play an important role in the rebuilding of your nation and in helping people normalize their lives.”

“On behalf of the International Olympic Committee and the entire Olympic Movement, please accept our deepest sympathies at this difficult time,” he added.

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