With the recent recommendation to remove wrestling from the Olympics, and squash and baseball/softball possibly sitting on the sidelines again, IOC Presidential Candidate Thomas Bach is asking for some “flexibility” regarding which sports are included in the Olympics program.
He submitted his official 15-page manifesto, titled “Unity in Diversity,” to IOC members Wednesday. In it, he details a platform that includes the restructuring of the IOC, and a new look at the Olympics program that focuses on disciplines.
“The composition of the Olympic program is like a jigsaw puzzle: You cannot simply replace some pieces with others, because you may destroy the harmony of the whole picture,” Bach wrote in the document obtained by the AP. “We should allow ourselves some flexibility with regard to the program.”
Bach, who won fencing gold at the 1976 Games, also mentions the creation of an Olympic Television Network, a stronger anti-doping policy, and a review of the host city bidding process.
“The IOC president serves this orchestra as a conductor,” Bach added. “I will do my very best to conduct the IOC in this way of participation, dialogue, consensus and motivation.”
Bach is considered the frontrunner for the position, but is up against IOC VP Ng Ser Miang of Singapore, IOC Finance Commission chair Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico, AIBA head C.K. Wu of Taiwan, and IOC members Denis Oswald of Switzerland and Sergei Bubka of Ukraine.
