The 141st Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was hosted by India from October 15-17, 2023, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The IOC’s Executive Board met during the session. The session facilitated interaction and the exchange of knowledge among diverse stakeholders in the sports arena.
- The 141st session of IOC was inaugurated by the Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi.
- This is the 2nd IOC Session hosted by India after 40 years. India hosted the 86th IOC session in New Delhi, Delhi in 1983.
Key People:
Thomas Bach, President of the IOC, members of IOC, along with prominent Indian sports personalities and representatives from various sports federations, including the Indian Olympic Association(IOA) participated in the session.
IOC suspends Russian Olympic Committee for incorporating Ukrainian Sports Bodies
IOC has suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) for violating the Olympic charter with “immediate effect and until further notice” after it incorporated sports bodies from 4 territories annexed from Ukraine (Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia) as its member.
- This violates the territorial integrity of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine, as recognized by the IOC in accordance with the Olympic Charter.
- This suspension doesn’t affect individual neutral athletes with a Russian passport immediately, but their participation in the 2024 and 2026 Olympics is uncertain, as IOC reserves the right to decide about their participation.
- The ban also removes the right of ROC to get funding from the IOC, which is presented as a part of the each 4-year Olympic funding cycle.
Note: The Olympic Charter is the codification of the fundamental principles of Olympism, and the rules and bye-laws adopted by the IOC. The Charter was first published in 1908.
IOC approved inclusion of 5 additional sports at 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
The 141st session of IOC approved the proposal of Los Angeles 2028 Organising Committee of Olympics and Paralympic Games for the inclusion of 5 additional sports including Cricket (T20-Twenty20), Softball/Baseball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash.
- These new sports align with American culture, showcasing iconic American sports globally.
- This inclusion has been made after a review and support by the IOC’s Olympic Programme Commission (OPC) and Executive Board (EB).
Key Points:
i.Cricket made a comeback after 128 years at the Olympics. It was featured in the 1900 Summer Olympics (Officially Known as Games of the II Olympiad) in Paris, France with teams from Great Britain and France.
ii.Baseball and softball were part of multiple Olympics, including Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics (Games of the XXXII Olympiad) in Japan.
iii.Lacrosse was included in St Louis 1904 Summer Olympics in Missouri, United States (US), and London 1908 Summer Olympics in United Kingdom (UK).
iv.Flag football and squash will debut at LA28 Olympics.
Note:
The IOC Session also accepted IOC EB’s recommendation to keep Weightlifting and modern pentathlon as Olympic sports. This decision follows the addressing of doping concerns by International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) by delegating its anti-doping management to the International Testing Agency (ITA), and its sanctioning to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) at least until the end of 2028.
- Modern pentathlon replaced horse jumping with obstacle course racing.
IOC awards Olympic Orders to personalities who have made an outstanding contribution to sport and Olympism
During in a ceremony held on the final day of the 141st IOC Session, IOC awarded the following four personalities or IOC members with Olympic Orders acknowledging their outstanding contribution to sport and Olympism:
| Awardee | Country |
|---|---|
| Beatrice Allen | Gambia |
| Craig Reedie | Britain/UK |
| Ung Chang | Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)(North Korea) |
| Andrzej Kraśnicki | Poland |
Key Points:
i.Beatrice Allen is the President of Gambia National Olympic Committee and the Vice President of World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). She has been a member of the IOC since 2016.
ii.Sir Craig Reedie is a former international badminton player and former (3rd) President of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). He has been a honorary member of IOC since 1994.
Note: Beatrice Allen and Craig Reedie were supposed to be honored in 2021 and 2022. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IOC postponed the awards.
iii.Ung Chang is a North Korean sports administrator and former athlete who promoted the role of sport in the DPRK. He played basketball in North Korea. He was first elected as an IOC member in 1996. He ceased his membership in 2018 having reached the age limit.
iv.Andrzej Kraśnicki is the former President of the National Olympic Committee of Poland.
About Olympic Order:
Established in 1975, the Olympic Order is the highest award of the Olympic Movement by the IOC. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement.
- Nadia Comaneci of Romania is the youngest recipients of the Olympic Order in 1984 when she was only 23 years old at the time of her award.
- She is also one of the two only athletes to be awarded the Olympic Order twice (1984, 2004), the other one being the Brazilian Carlos Arthur Nuzman.
Others Highlights:
i.The 141st IOC Session also extended the term in office of IOC Member Luis Mejia Oviedo (Dominican Republic), who has been the Vice President of WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) since 2022.
ii.The Session also honoured Mamadou Ndiaye of Senegal, a member of IOC since 2015. He’ll step down in 2023 but he will serve as the President of the 4th Summer Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 Organizing Committee.
IOC Session approves principle of 2030−2034 double allocation for Olympic Winter Games
The 141st IOC session unanimously approved the principle of a double allocation two successive Olympic Winter Games and Paralympics in 2030 and 2034 due to climate change threat.
- The proposal for was presented to the IOC EB in Mumbai by the Chair of the IOC’s Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games, Karl Stoss.
Reason behind this decision:
i.Global warming is reducing natural snow and water for snowmaking due to climate change. This is putting the global snow sport industry at risk.
ii.By 2040 only 10 nations will be able to host the snow sports of the Olympic Winter and Paralympic Games.
Points to note:
i.Mumbai was the only bidder to host the 141st IOC session. The IOC members approved Mumbai’s application during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
- The 2030 Winter Olympics host city was supposed to be selected in this session, but the decision was delayed until 2024 by the IOC.
iii.During the meeting, IOC Members reviewed the progress on the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020+5 following the publication by the IOC of the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 Midway Report.
- The Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 are the first to be planned and delivered fully in line with the Olympic Agenda 2020 and Olympic Agenda 2020+5.
What is Olympic Agenda 2020+5?
It is a set of 15 recommendations that were inspired by five influential contemporary trends, where sports and Olympic values can make a difference. These trends are:
- Solidarity
- Digitalisation
- Sustainable development
- Credibility
- Economic and financial resilience
Recent Related News:
i.Tokyo 2020 Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal in the Men’s Javelin Throw at the Lausanne Diamond League 2023 (officially known as Lausanne Diamond League Athletissima 2023), held from June 29 to 30 at Stade Olympique de la Pontaise in Lausanne, Switzerland.
ii.On 4th July 2023, Indian Football Team (also known as ‘Blue Tigers’) won the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Bangabandhu Championship 2023 defeating Kuwait national football team at the finals, in Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
About International Olympic Committee (IOC):
President– Thomas Bach
Headquarters– Lausanne, Switzerland
Establishment– 1894
