What is the status of the Olympic Truce right now? Does anyone remember it? IOC Napoleon Thomas Bach once wanted to unite divided Korea at the Winter Games and dreamed of winning the Nobel Peace Prize. His chosen successor, Kirsty Coventry, remains silent in these days of war, of course.
The IOC has survived the 2026 Winter Games but faces enormous challenges: Trump, LA 2028, the search for TOP sponsors, the hospitality disasters, the toxic climate in the administration, program reform, and the abolition of the Olympic Channel. Doubts about president Kirsty Coventry are growing.
What I outlined in Thursday's newsletter has been confirmed by CAS' Ad Hoc Division: Denis Oswald made the decision on Wednesday on behalf of the IOC Disciplinary Commission. The IBSF jury was instructed to act in accordance with IOC guidelines. The next day, the IOC pulled off its deception again.
The reporting on Nazi symbolism in The Olympic Shop deserves some background information and documentation. So here is a story about how the IOC basically blackmailed (German) Olympic bidders and how much money the IOC Group paid for the 1936 Olympic films financed by Joseph Goebbels.
Once again, CAS acted in accordance with the wishes of the IOC. The press release on the arbitration ruling reads as if it were written by IOC's propaganda department – no deviations from IOC positions. Questions on the proceedings and the lack of transparency of IBSF and IOC remain unanswered.
The disqualification of Ukrainian Vladyslav Heraskevych becomes the biggest political issue of the 2026 Winter Olympics – with unforeseen consequences for the IOC and its president, Kirsty Coventry, who are attempting to rectify the situation with propaganda measures. Details on the opaque process.
Let us forget the Olympic lie of neutrality! There can be no neutrality when a murderous Russian regime is about to destroy another country and threatens World War III. That is why the Ukrainian Vladyslav Heraskevych, like all other Ukrainian athletes and Olympians, deserves our full solidarity.
At the FIE congress in Manama on Saturday, a Mexican fencing federation (FME) is to be expelled and replaced by another so-called Mexican federation (ADNEM). Everything has been prepared well in advance. This is no small matter – the trail leads to Uzbekistan in the Russian hemisphere.
The gathering in Wollongong resembled the worst congresses we have seen in recent decades in terms of serious corruption cases (FIFA, FIVB, IWF et al). Investigation attempts were rigorously suppressed. Only SIX national federations worldwide are on the side of those seeking clarification.
447 fencers and the European Confederation's board speak out against the decision of the International Fencing Federation to allow Russian fencers and teams to compete as ‘neutral athletes.’ At the same time, Usmanov's vassals around Vitaly Logvin consolidate their power with a dubious congress.
The World Olympians Association (WOA) is not the first organisation that the IOC has dissolved or arranged to be dissolved. In autumn 2022, the more important GAISF was killed off – the trail led to the IOC headquarters. The WOA case is much better documented. Read the most important correspondence!
The world is out of joint. So far, the fascist madness in the White House has had little direct impact on the Olympic system. But let's not fool ourselves: what despots, billionaires, warmongers and Nazis do will also have a lasting impact on organized Olympic sport.
The Ukrainians present themselves as proud and self-confident, sad and thoughtful, and ready to give their all in the Olympic arenas. "Each of us thinks about the people who are defending our country," says Olympic champion Olha Kharlan. "It's hard, but that makes us even stronger!"
About our Olympic coverage, our Paris 2024 ticket, our way of journalism, the latest articles by Romain Molina and two outstanding TV documentaries you shouldn't miss.
The IOC president sought to get close to Putin even after the Sochi Doping Games. He fraternised with Xi Jinping. He politicised the 2018 Games in South Korea, driven by the dream of the Nobel Peace Prize. All a miserable failure that dragged the Games deeper into a political quagmire. A commentary.
For several weeks now, an online petition has been calling for "Suspend Israel from International Sports". The appeal was launched by the left-wing collective movement DiEM25. In the petition paper, fundamental facts are being omitted or deliberately distorted.
