'One crisis after another': Outgoing Bach on his IOC presidency
Outgoing International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has said that "I enjoyed every day" although his 12 years in office were "one crisis after another and sometimes several at the same time."
Russian state doping, the Ukraine war and the coronavirus were some of the big issues the 71-year-old German had to tackle as the most powerful man in world sports.
The 1976 fencing gold medallist had long left the Olympic Movement in uncertainty whether he would seek a third term which would have required a change of the Olympic Charter.
But Bach eventually said at the end of last year's vastly successful Paris Games that he will stick to the current rules and step down.
His successor will be elected on Thursday by the IOC Session from seven candidates, and will start on June 23 when Bach leaves the IOC after 34 years.
"He led the IOC through a time of big challenges and hands it over to his successor in an excellent state," said Thomas Weikert, president of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB).
Weikert said said Bach's reform packages Olympic Agenda 2020 and Olympic Agenda 2020+5 have made the Olympic Movement fit for the future.
Close to Putin and Xi
But Bach has also been criticised for his reign as the ninth IOC president, especially in his home country.
He has been accused of being on too friendly terms with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi jinping, too lenient regarding human rights violations in Olympic host nations, and of a too big concentration of power at the top of the IOC.
Karla Borger, president of the Athletes Germany group, also criticised recently on Deutschlandfunk radio that athletes had no sufficient rights of co-determination and should also receive more from the IOC's billion-dollars earnings.
Bach has admitted that "there is still a lot to do" but he added: "I would have liked many things, but that's not the way the world is, you can't achieve everything in 12 years."
Looking at the fractured relationship with Putin, he said: "Perhaps I sometimes believed too strongly and for too long in the good nature of people."
Russia and other crises
Bach had heaped praise on Russia after the expensive Sochi Winter Games in 2014, speaking of "a new Russia" which was "efficient, friendly, patriotic and open for the world."
A few days later Russia annexed Crimea, and Bach and the IOC came under even more pressure when the whole scope of Russia's doping practices - including at the Sochi Games - was uncovered.
Russians were still allowed to compete, as neutral athletes, in PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 before the Ukraine war started a few days after the Beijing closing ceremony and led to a full break-up.
Russia was banned from international sport, the IOC stripped Putin of the Olympic Order, and Bach told publishers Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that "I am called a Nazi in Russia since then." A few Russians were then allowed to compete in Paris as neutral athletes.
Bach has admitted that all Games during his presidency were "on the brink" at some stage, from financial trouble at Rio 2016, the political crisis around North Korea around PyeongChang, to Tokyo and Beijing against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.
Paris and beyond
It was not until Paris that the Olympics became again what Bach had envisioned with his reforms.
"The Games have become more sustainable, more urban and younger," German IOC member Michael Mronz said, naming this "the cleasr thumbprint of Thomas Bach."
Mronz also defended Bach against the criticism from within Germany.
"We are world champions at denigrating personalities. We even managed that with (football icon) Franz Beckenbauer," he said.
Mronz said that Bach is perceived positively in large parts of the world, and "it can't be that all these countries are wrong and only we are right."
Bach's positive outlook
Bach also gives himself a good leaving diploma, saying the IOC is "healthier than ever before, looking at the numbers and facts."
Host cities have been selected until 2034, and there are plenty of interested parties for 2036 and beyond.
US broadcasters NBC have just renewed their contract until 2036 for $3 billion, and sponsorship money is also flowing even though long-time partners like Toyota, Panasonic and Bridgestone have left.
Gender equality, the creation of Esports Olympics to be held in Saudi Arabia, and the use of Artificial Intelligence are other areas tackled during Bach's reign.
The next president
Bach's successor will face further big tasks, ranging from gender issues to climate change and its effect on finding future Winter Games hosts.
Six men including World Athletics president Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry are bidding to be elected on Thursday by the IOC members. Zimbabwe's Coventry is said to be Bach's favourite and would be the first women to got the top job in world sport.
What is next for Bach?
Bach has said he will not remain active in the background once he steps down, while Weikert hopes that Bach may get involved in the DOSB again, having been its president 2006-2013.
Bach's first plans after his IOC exit are meanwhile of a very different nature.
"First of all I will sleep for at least four weeks. And then I'm going to go on a pilgrimage along the Way of St James and let myself be inspired all by myself," he said.
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In 2024, the Russian investigative outlet Dossier Center reported that he also has two young sons with Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast long rumored to be his partner. The two boys reportedly live in Putin's residence on Lake Valdai in northwestern Russia. Since coming forward with her revelation about Putin's alleged daughter Rozova, Rodionova told the Kyiv Independent that she has dealt not only with public slander but also threats made against her. 'I want to believe that these people have expressed their personal opinion but lots of messages were suspiciously similar,' she said, suggesting that there was an organized campaign of retaliation. Rodionova pushed back against those attacking her for raising questions about Rozova's parentage, arguing that they were distorting the reasons behind her decision. Regardless of Rozova's personal politics or the extent to which she has or hasn't benefited from the Russian regime, exiled artists like Rodionova emphasize that the ongoing dangers posed by Russia's full-scale war require extra caution and transparency when it comes to who is welcomed into anti-war cultural spaces. Read also: Controversial Russian literature prize sparks debate on separating culture from war crimes Hi there, it's Kate Tsurkan, thanks for reading this article. The story of Putin's alleged daughter working in anti-war art galleries in Paris is one of those crazy stories that make you realize culture and politics are never that far removed from each other, especially when it comes to Russia's war against Ukraine. I hope by reading this article you also reflected on questions of accountability, transparency, and trust during wartime. If you like reading this sort of material, please consider supporting us by becoming a paid member of the Kyiv Independent today. We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
