The IOC is caulking. In Lausanne, on the glass door of its brand new seat, erected on the shores of Lake Geneva, a small poster: “The Olympic House is closed”.
Since last Friday, the approximately 600 employees remain at home, “in accordance with the recommendations of the health authorities”, explains the authority. And they continue to work on the preparation of the Tokyo Olympics, by telework.
The German president, Thomas Bach, is one of the few still present at the headquarters, surrounded by the director general, the Belgian Christophe De Kepper, and a few directors.
“Only the president is present and some directors, in separate offices,” said AFP a source close to management.
Since Tuesday, Mr. Bach has chained telephone meetings with international federations, National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and representatives of athletes, tirelessly repeating his message: the IOC is “determined to work for the success of the Tokyo Olympics”.
“Another 4 months ahead of us”
“Everyone realizes that we still have four months to go,” before the Olympics, said Wednesday evening Mr. Bach, after his meeting with representatives of athletes from around the world.
On Tuesday, the IOC asked the international federations to provide it by the end of March with proposals to finalize their qualification program, when only 57% of athletes are qualified.
According to sources interviewed by AFP, none of the 28 federations represented at the Summer Olympics asked the IOC boss if he planned to postpone the Tokyo Games scheduled to open on July 24.
“We are very optimistic that the Tokyo Olympics will be held on schedule,” Serbian Nenad Lalovic, president of the International Wrestling Federation (Fila) and influential member of the IOC Executive Board, told AFP on Thursday.
Now alone in his office at the headquarters of the federation in Corsier-sur-Vevey (Switzerland), Mr. Lalovic “organizes telephone consultations with member federations”, with a view to submitting to the IOC “at the end of the month” a plan for complete the qualification program, when only “45% of wrestlers” have their sesame for Tokyo in their pocket today. “We are going to postpone all the qualifying tournaments in June,” added the man who saved the place of wrestling in the Olympic program.
But faced with the growing concerns of athletes, how long will the IOC be able to last? Tuesday’s only day saw the postponement of Euro football, Copa America, the Roland-Garros tennis tournament and the classic Paris-Roubaix cyclist.
“There is no need to take radical decisions”, assured an IOC spokesperson Wednesday adding that “any speculation” on a possible postponement “at this stage would be counterproductive”, also encouraging “all athletes to continue to prepare for the Olympic Games as best as they can ”.
The Olympic Games “go beyond everything”
“The Olympic Games go beyond everything in terms of organization, budget and prestige, confides a part of a large federation. We can therefore understand that the IOC gives itself time to take a radical decision which also involves the future of world sport. ”
On Thursday morning, during a surreal scene, in a panathenaic stadium in Athens empty due to the coronavirus, Greece transmitted the Olympic flame to the Japanese organizers of the Olympic Games who will now fly it to Tokyo.
But faced with what some call obstinacy, more and more sportsmen call in isolation for a postponement, such as the world record holder of the decathlon Kévin Mayer or the Greek pole vaulter Katerina Stefanidi. Like the president of the French Swimming Federation, Gilles Sezionale.
While many presidents of international federations, most of whom have their headquarters in Lausanne, follow the IOC line, internally the discourse is often quite different.
“I am shocked, says an executive of a large federation, on condition of anonymity. If the IOC decides to postpone (the Olympics), at least everyone could prepare themselves rather than move forward without knowing where we’re going. ”
“If the IOC claims to care about the health of athletes, while postponing the Games, suggests a manager from another federation. Because by not taking any decision, it exposes athletes to a major risk. ”
Created: 19.03.2020, 14h44
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