Izuchukwu Okosi
With the opening event of the 2022 Winter Olympics just one day away, the International Olympic Committee can only fulfill its mission by ensuring the participation of all athletes in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics if they overcome their political differences for the “politically neutral” games, IOC President Thomas Bach said on Thursday.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe German lawyer-turned sports administrator – who insisted that the event should not become a “tool to achieve political goals” – was delivering the opening speech of the 139th session of the IOC, in the host city of Beijing, in the backdrop of the United States announcing a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics over the human rights situation in China.
“Today we can be happy and proud that apparently this message got through. All the athletes, who have been overcoming great uncertainties in this respect for so long, can make their dream come true and compete at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022,” Bach said.
Nigeria will be represented at the Games with medals expected from the powerlifting events.
The former Olympian who participated in the 1976 Games in Montreal, Canada was reelected for a period of four years as the IOC boss at its 137th session in 2021 after his initial tenure elapsed.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
