Thomas Bach: Uniting the Olympic Movement
In a series of interviews recorded during Paris 2024 and after, figures from the Olympic Movement and beyond shared their views on the impact of the Olympic Agenda reforms. Excerpts from these interviews can be read on this page.
Emmanuel Macron
President of France
I think I can say that Thomas has gradually become a friend whom I trust and respect greatly. I think that he has contributed greatly to modernising and transforming the IOC and the Olympic Movement, firstly by constantly pushing for reinvention and for new events, but also by pushing everyone to ensure that the Olympic Games reconnect with their audience and with young people … He has served Olympism as an athlete and later as a professional, as a lawyer and as the IOC President, so I hold him in high regard. I think that the IOC is lucky to have been led by him for all these years and that he was right to want to keep modernising, transforming and opening up the IOC. I wish the IOC every success. Thanks to Thomas Bach, Paris 2024 was the first gender-equal Games. Together, we’ve made the Paralympic Games a continuation of the Olympic Games. Together, we’ve created the most sustainable Games ever.
Olympism is tackling contemporary challenges, be it gender equality, the climate or sustainable development. To this, we can add gaming, esports, AI and digital technology – all challenges that the Olympic Movement needs to address. The road ahead has been mapped out, and the wise man, if I may say so, has defined it. I hope that he continues to build a legacy as bold, as wise and as innovative. France certainly owes Thomas Bach a lot for the years that we’ve spent together. I’d like to extend to him my very sincere thanks as President and as a friend.
Brian L. Roberts
Comcast Chair and CEO
In Paris, we showed the world harmony. We showed the world a fantastic competition, but also the coming together of humanity in a way to support each other and use technology to our good, not just [for] controversy... the broadcasting and the streaming and the celebrity and the knowledge and the technology but, most of all, just the partnership between the International Olympic Committee and Comcast NBCUniversal reached its pinnacle.
Eileen Gu
Two-time Winter Olympic gold medallist
The Olympics are evolving with our world as we get younger and more digital. We can see events like breakdancing and skateboarding that make us really excited and feel new and experiential. President Bach was right next to me as I received my score at the bottom of my Beijing [2022] big air [jump]. And in that moment, as I made history as the youngest freeski Olympic gold medallist, I remember the words that he had spoken at the Opening Ceremony, which had really touched me. I remember almost being brought to tears when I heard how his mission [for] the Olympics aligned with my own values. He spoke about using sport to bring people together, about uniting people regardless of culture, age or gender, and instead using the power of sport to bring communication and unity to people. The way he said that was really inspiring. So at the very bottom of my Beijing big air jump, I told him that. And that was a really exciting moment, I think, for both of us.
[President] Bach has an eye towards the future, and that's something that I admire a lot. Sustainability, and especially using the Olympic platform to promote sustainability, has been a really inspiring thing that President Bach has been doing, and that I respect a lot as a winter sports athlete.
Dr Valérie Fourneyron
International Testing Agency Board Chair
The Olympic spirit is what has been instilled during President Bach’s mandate, thanks to his total dedication to the Olympic Movement and his thirst for the reform that is indispensable to the Movement’s future. Protecting clean athletes means protecting sport. It means protecting athletes’ health. If you stop believing in the authenticity of a result, you stop believing in sport. So, to make sure that we can keep honouring athletes’ performances, we need to fight unwaveringly to protect those clean athletes. At the start of his mandate, President Bach announced that he wanted to give clean athletes stronger protection. He wrote that aim into Olympic Agenda 2020 but, above all, he kept his promise with the creation of the International Testing Agency (ITA). So, he needed to be bold enough to leave the anti-doping programme to the ITA, and he was. He needed to show that the Olympic Movement was taking that responsibility and that it wanted to avoid a potential conflict of interest. We all need to have President Bach’s unwavering desire to develop and strengthen the fight against doping.
Across all of the reforms that have been brought about under President Bach, I think that the International Testing Agency… will remain a key step and a legacy, and that legacy is to serve clean athletes.
Francesco Ricci Bitti
IOC Honour Member
It was very important [for the IOC to conduct a consultation process around Olympic Agenda 2020] because it was fitting with the vision of Thomas Bach that the IOC, the Olympic Movement, has to evolve. [From] the perspective of the International Federations, I will say that [these reforms] have had a direct impact on the Games. First, the simplification of the bid procedure was very important; the second was the role of the International Federations in delivering the Games, including all the optimisation measures that came with this; and third, last but not least, the first-time emphasis and attention on sustainability and legacy. Outside the Games... in general, we [have] witnessed… the growing relevance of sport in society and the extension of the mission that [Olympic] Agenda [2020] allowed. The Olympic Movement has been vital for this new role of sport in society.
Thomas, in my opinion, will be remembered as a very great President for two reasons. One, the Games of Tokyo and Beijing during the pandemic time. Without his resilience, I would think [these] Games would never [have] happened. And the second one, in general, he allows, through Agenda 2020, the IOC to extend its mission to be a very important player in society.
Alexandra de Navacelle de Coubertin
Pierre de Coubertin Family Association President
I’d like to extend my gratitude to Thomas Bach who is, quite honestly, one of the most inspiring figures of the Olympic Movement that I’ve ever seen. His measures are always thought through, and there’s detachment in the way [he approaches] sometimes complicated situations, especially in wars, [or during] the pandemic. I think he did an incredible job, giving messages to the world, keeping the Games in Tokyo because it was important to stay in motion and do whatever we could, given, naturally, the circumstances. The Olympic motto – ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’ – is a clear message, and having ‘Together’ added was brilliant because it really encapsulates the spirit in that one word. In a way, it was always there, but it wasn’t truly explicit.
Filippo Grandi
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
We’ve been cooperating with the International Olympic Committee on sports projects in [a] refugee context for decades but, particularly in the last few years since the Rio Olympics, this cooperation has grown enormously – first through the launch by the IOC of this fantastic initiative, the Refugee Olympic Team, that [saw] its third edition in Paris with 37 athletes. But then also with the establishment of the Olympic Refuge Foundation, of which the President of the IOC is the President and I’m the Vice-President, and which allows us to work together throughout the world, with the funding of generous donors, to promote sports as a vehicle for inclusion, for achievement, for mental health, and many, many other advantages that sports brings to situations of fragility and displacement. Social inclusion in refugee contexts is often one of the main challenges. And we have seen that sport has been a way to overcome some of the difficulties. Sport is a fantastic tool to improve the lives of refugees and to give them hope and a better future.
Witold Bańka
WADA President
I think Olympic Agenda is an extremely important document for the future of sports, structuring the procedures, the rules in sports. The collaboration with different entities and stakeholders is very important, and a part of Olympic Agenda is an anti-doping policy and strong collaboration with WADA. [President Bach] thinks that anti-doping plays a very important role in the sporting landscape. So as WADA, we feel this support and together we can do more. This is the essence of the IOC’s vision – the collaboration. And I really welcome this approach. I'm very happy that, thanks to this collaboration and strong support from the IOC, we can be stronger. We can work even more effectively for the athletes.
Nicole Hoevertz
Former IOC Vice-President; Olympian
Olympic Agenda is a labour of collaboration. It’s a labour of unifying the Olympic Movement, of everybody around the world who wanted to have something to say about the organisation and how they view the organisation moving forward. Everybody had the opportunity to bring an opinion forward. [Olympic Agenda 2020] was really implemented in practice. And in order to do that, the IOC President created an organisation, an administration, staff that really was dedicated, and that really worked very hard in making sure that the Olympic Agenda recommendations actually became reality.
Olympic Agenda was not just something that we included in our sentences and in our discussions. It really became part of who we are and what we wanted to accomplish. I think the Members really understood what the recommendations represented, what they meant and what we wanted to accomplish with them. So the Members really had a very important say in that.
I’m a champion for gender equality. Women in sports is very dear to my heart. It made me very proud to see that, in Paris 2024, we [had] the first-ever Olympic Games where we celebrated gender equality in the participation of athletes. We still have a long way to go. We still need more women coaches in the Olympic Movement. We’re developing important and interesting projects to accomplish that in the years ahead. We have more women than ever before as presidents of commissions; members of commissions have reached that parity as well. So, we are moving forward very, very fast. We have younger women also as IOC Members, through the Athletes’ Commission. We have more women directors nowadays. So, we’re doing a lot to have more women included in all aspects of the Olympic Movement.
I find it very special that the International Olympic Committee is a permanent observer at the United Nations, and it gives us leverage. It gives us access to many of the agencies of the UN, with which we have an excellent working relationship. UNHCR has been in the forefront the last couple of years because of the fact that we work so closely for the refugee delegation and need the collaboration of UNHCR. I think it’s very important also to recognise that the IOC, with all the knowledge it has, with all these international events, but also of course the Olympic Games, brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge and experience to the table from which these international organisations can benefit.
[President Bach] has come up with very challenging initiatives and has steered the organisation through very challenging times. Of course, we recognise the pandemic, but let’s not forget the doping crisis and all these different, difficult periods that the President has led us through in a very positive way and with a good result for the IOC.
Gene Sykes
IOC Member; USOPC President
It was clear to us how much the IOC was dedicated to these reforms. We heard a lot about sustainability, simplicity, reuse. And actually, I must say, I give credit to the IOC and Agenda 2020 for making the LA [2028] bid possible. And I say that because without the direction that the IOC would actually support the idea of reusing existing infrastructure and allow us to consider having university residences operate as an Olympic Village, I don’t know that we could have afforded to build a brand new Olympic Village, [or] that it would have worked in Los Angeles.
I think the President and all of the IOC understand that the Games only work to the extent that they’re truly popular. And popularity is, if you will, always demographically challenged by new experiences that young people have. Young people seek out areas where they can interact with each other, use technology, learn from experience, which is richer and more fulfilling, more gratifying. The Games, to some degree, have to keep up with where the young people are. And in many cases, that’s in sports – or there are manifestations in sports that we can think of that work very well in the Olympic Movement. So, the introduction of several of the new urban-style sports or sports that are more youth-oriented is very valuable.
Andrew Parsons
IOC Member; International Paralympic Committee President
[The Olympic Agenda reforms meant a lot to the Paralympic Movement.] The Paralympic Games [understood] where we fit in this whole ecosystem of the Olympic Movement, meaning not [just] the Games but the development of sport or para sport – to make the Games more rational, for example, from a spending point of view. All the reforms [took] the Paralympic Movement into account, and this was really important to us. We were part of the discussions. We were part of the solutions – we needed to adapt [like] any other organisation. Because of those reforms, we are still – and probably more – relevant than ever before. The reforms [position] the IOC, the IPC, the sports movement as a partner of governments, as a partner of the OCOGs (Organising Committees). When we are doing these things together, one strengthens the other. The IOC strengthens the IPC.
Nadia Comaneci
IOC Athletes’ Entourage Commission member; five-time Olympic gold medallist
We go back to 1976. We competed together in the same Olympic Games. And what we share together is sports and the respect for sports. I have seen a lot of changes and implementations that Thomas Bach has done. He cares a lot about the athletes. I don’t say others didn’t, but it's just like it’s a different way to accomplish things – to be able to help the underserved who have no possibilities.
Tony Estanguet
IOC Member; Paris 2024 Organising Committee President; three-time Olympic gold medallist
At Paris 2024, we were the first Games – right from the bidding phase – to be guided by [Olympic] Agenda 2020. The acceptability of these Olympic Games was very important, as it was in an environmentally friendly setting – in terms of sustainability and carbon dioxide emissions. But they were also aligned with Agenda 2020 in terms of inclusion, much more respect, an even more open mind, so that everyone can have their place. They were more modern – especially with breaking, which was a new sport to appeal to young people and show them that the Olympic Games cover all sports, including those that are much more commonly watched and played by young people.
So, we really tried to take everything into account and then we went into detail: to halve carbon emissions,
we decided not to build any new buildings if they would be of no use for the surrounding area. One hundred per cent public transport. We also had to use 100 per cent renewable electricity. Even with food, we doubled the amount of plant-based food. So, all these very detailed examples are part of the overarching goals of Agenda 2020, which were to become more eco-friendly, more inclusive and more modern.
One of the big successes of Paris 2024 was that it was the first-ever Games with gender parity. That's hugely symbolic... Having the Olympics promote women's sport and highlight the great female champions from every country with the same ambition as men, I think is a very strong message of inclusion and I’m convinced it will have an impact on the way girls and women play sports. I hope it will free people to play sports around the world, above all because it is beneficial for society and for all humans to be able to play sport.
George Hirthler
Author
I think history will see Thomas Bach as the most transformative President of the IOC. Thomas came in with a plan called [Olympic] Agenda 2020 – 40 principles for how to modernise, even more, contemporise, if you will, the Olympic Movement. In Paris, 10 years later we saw the results of that in an incredible, beautiful Olympic Games, in the most beautiful city in the world, with an urban setting that has never been produced at this level before.
Agenda 2020 did something that is really miraculous. It presented a common vision, and a roadmap to the future, a blueprint for the way [forward] to reform and change this movement. Agenda 2020 became the platform that allowed the [IOC] Members to articulate the ways in which it should evolve, should change to become more relevant and meaningful in civil society.
Katarina Witt
Two-time Winter Olympic gold medallist
Thomas Bach has been a great President for the Olympic Movement and a great leader in going [in] new directions. He really has a vision. And following this vision, and everybody [coming] together and believing in his vision, I think he has done a tremendous job for the Olympics.
Ban Ki-moon
IOC Ethics Commission Chair; former United Nations Secretary-General
When [the Republic of Korea] was hosting the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, President Thomas Bach... invited the representatives of the boards of the South and North teams to Geneva, to sit down together to discuss this matter. They finally agreed to create the one team, South and North Korea, marching together in the Opening Ceremony, under the Korean Peninsula flag. That was the most moving moment for Koreans. They became one, even though they [had] different ideologies.
Gaby Ahrens
WADA Athlete Council Vice-Chair
I [was] very proud to be at an Olympic Games where it [was] 50/50 [representation of male and female athletes]. I think it’s a human right for women and men to have the same rights, also the same obligations. And just to be part of this historic moment is already just such a great achievement in my eyes. Sport in itself really empowers women. It’s great for girls’ self-esteem. The Olympic Games are a global platform. There are many different cultures in the world where it may not be 50/50 yet, so it’s a great encouragement and it’s a great movement. And I hope that in the very [near] future, this might be like this all over the world. For me, coming from Africa, I could really see how Thomas Bach has supported my continent, has supported women, has put a lot of women in leadership positions, which I’m really, really grateful for. And I think we need more leaders like this in the world.
Jack Ma
Alibaba Group Co-founder
[On first meeting President Bach] Thomas talked a lot about uniting young people. And the other thing we [thought] is we all talk about [the] future. We all think about the future. We also think about how we can change [ourselves] to be better for the future. Both of us believe in [the] future, believe technology will enable us [and] will enable young people to create a better future. I think Thomas planted a very, very powerful and interesting hope for the future. And I admire that a lot.
Fraser Bullock
Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 Organising Committee President
Olympic Agendas 2020 and 2020+5 set the roadmap for the future. That is so powerful. And we’ve seen it manifest in our Games, focused on partnership in the bid process, and in things like sustainability that are so important. [The candidature process has] gone from being competitive to being collaborative. It’s a partnership. And it’s been a wonderful experience for us in Salt Lake to work hand-in-hand with the IOC, and particularly President Bach, to direct us [to] the right place so that we ended up with the right solution.
Cindy Ngamba
IOC Refugee Olympic Team member; Olympic bronze medallist
It’s important that the [Refugee Olympic Team] was created, mainly for many refugees all around the world, athletes and non-athletes. A lot of refugees go through so many obstacles and don't get the opportunity or the support that they need. And [thanks] to the IOC, we are able to be given the light and be given a team, a family. What makes us special and unique compared to any other athlete around the world is that we all have different backgrounds, but the main thing that brings us together is that we are refugees. I’m over the moon that I was able to get myself a medal and be the first-ever member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team to win a medal and show all the humans and all the refugees around the world that we are just like any other athlete and we aim high.
Sam Ramsamy
IOC Honorary Member
The Olympic Movement now has on its agenda – fair play. It has on its agenda – equality. It has on its agenda – all other aspects that Olympism stands for. [President Bach] has harnessed that. I have to say that I am very, very happy with the way he has conducted the Olympic Movement. He has made sure that the International Federations are intact, he made sure that the NOCs are intact, and obviously the membership is intact. And that in the end is a three-component part because we cannot only concentrate on the IOC Members, although the IOC Members are the ones who elected him.
Getting sports like sport climbing [and] skateboarding has helped immensely. In fact, we have already noticed that the inspiration that has been provided has in fact gone to such an extent and expanded to such an extent that we will see wider participation in the Olympic Movement. I think generally that is what Olympic Agenda stands for. Wider participation, a participation on an inclusive basis and not on an exclusive basis. In fact, Thomas always said: ‘What I think is important for the Olympic Movement is to create unity in diversity.’ And he has created that to a large extent.
Alaa Maso
IOC Refugee Olympic Team member
Through the IOC programme supporting the displaced athletes, I was able to live my dreams. I was able to compete [on] very big stages. I never really knew I [was] going to be doing it – [I] maybe imagined, maybe visualised myself doing it, but never really had the chance to have it. I will forever be thankful for the Olympic Movement and the way they were able to support us. I think somehow sport does bring people together. And that's the Olympic spirit. That's what it's all about.
Jessica Fox
IOC Member; three-time Olympic gold medallist
President Bach, 11 years ago, I had the honour of being one of 10 Olympians to come to Lausanne and participate with you in the consultation process for Olympic Agenda 2020. You valued our voices and our diverse experiences. You opened the door to new perspectives to help you shape the future. It was a defining moment that inspired me to take on roles representing athletes in my sport and in my country. And as a competitive athlete in Rio, Tokyo and Paris, I felt first-hand the transformative impact of the Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms.
Paris, in particular, was remarkable. I felt that these Games were clearly successful and progressive. But more than that, you could feel the Olympic spirit flourishing. You could feel that we were bringing the whole world together. And it was more egalitarian, more inclusive, more sustainable, more athlete-centred, with an incredible atmosphere, venues and stories that celebrated the Olympic values. Under your leadership, President Bach, the reforms you have carried out have strengthened our role within the Movement.
Luis Alberto Moreno
IOC Member
I would like to draw the attention of all my colleagues to another dimension: your diplomatic skills that I have had the privilege of seeing with my own eyes. Having spent a good part of my life in multilateral institutions, it is not easy to reach a consensus on ideas. I saw how you were able to listen. At the end of the day, diplomacy is about building bridges where there are none. It reminds me of the famous quote attributed to Gandhi: ‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you and finally you win.’ Mr President, you have won for all of us. Thank you very much.
Allyson Felix
IOC Member; seven-time Olympic gold medallist
You encouraged me to get involved in the Athletes’ Commission. I was very hesitant. Thanks to your encouragement, I decided to get involved and since then it has been a very eye-opening experience and, on behalf of the Athletes’ Commission, we just want to thank you for always being attentive to the services to athletes. Thank you for always putting athletes at the centre of your concerns, and I know we are all inspired by that and will continue to work to make sure that continues.
Anita DeFrantz
IOC Member; Olympic bronze medallist
I am delighted with everything that has been said and all the applause. It has been very well understood what you have done and, of course, also for women. Thank you for having accomplished our mission of increasing the number of women in the IOC and in sport. I wanted to add something that not everyone knows about you: your kindness. You are always there for someone who has been injured or has problems, and you do it calmly and immediately. Your calls of support made a big difference to me and allowed me to be sure that I could be here at this IOC Session. I am deeply grateful to you. I know of many other acts of kindness that you have performed. You are both extraordinarily tough and extraordinarily kind and that is why I really appreciate your legacy. I had the privilege of voting for your membership of the IOC and then I saw how you went from a backbencher to the front of the room. I congratulate you. It wasn’t easy, but you did it. Mr President, I thank you for everything that others have said specifically for women, but above all for your kindness as a leader, which is extremely important and does not always happen, so thank you for being a leader and a friend.
Anant Singh
IOC Member
We have talked a lot about leadership over the years, and I have had the honour of being led by you. The leadership for which we both have great admiration is that of Nelson Mandela. You have adopted many of the ideals and objectives found in the way he led, and I have observed this during my seven years here. It has been a great source of inspiration to have been led by you.
Samira Asghari
IOC Member
In terms of gender equality, human rights and, in particular, women’s rights, you are our champion. I come from Afghanistan. When everyone forgot about Afghanistan, when all the world leaders forgot about Afghanistan, the only place we looked to was the Olympic Games. And under your leadership, we saw our women everywhere, and your arms were always open. The Afghan people are grateful to the Olympic Movement, especially for your support.
While all efforts have been made to stick to the original transcripts, some interviews have been slightly edited to improve flow.