The Bach Years

As the world celebrated Olympic Day, the IOC officially marked a transition.  After 12 years in office, Thomas Bach's tenure as IOC President came to an end and Kirsty Coventry formally stepped into the role.  Coventry has already made history as the first female IOC President and the first from Africa.  Bach, meanwhile, leaves a complicated legacy.

In fairness, the biggest issue Bach had to deal with was something nobody could've foreseen.  The COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020.  The Japanese organizers wanted to cancel the Tokyo Games entirely.  Bach wouldn't have it.  Instead, they were postponed a year and held in empty venues with major precautions put in place.  But they took place.  That was the important thing.

From a business perspective, it was important for the Tokyo Games to happen.  The IOC could've afforded missing an Olympics, but some of the international sporting federations (which rely on IOC funding) couldn't.  And, had the Games been cancelled, the IOC wouldn't have gotten the sponsorship and broadcast revenue that is the major source of their funding.  It was Bach's responsibility to do everything in his power to make sure his business was protected.  And that meant staging the Games.  So, the Games went on.

It wasn't just about business for Bach, though.  He was a West German athlete who had to miss the 1980 Games because of the boycott.  He knows what it's like for an athlete to lose that opportunity, which they work their whole lives for and they may only get once.  This was a global pandemic, not a boycott, but he didn't want another generation of Olympians to have that same experience.

That the Tokyo Games happened at all was a major win for Bach.  The fact that they took place successfully made it that much better.  Then there was another COVID-impacted Olympics six months later in Beijing.  Two Olympics were successfully held in the midst of a global pandemic.  That's no small feat.

Those Beijing Games were the third straight Olympics in East Asia, and Bach had to navigate the tense geopolitical situation that came with being in China.  Which was nothing compared to dealing with the nation that was a thorn in his side throughout his entire presidency.  Russia (aka OAR, aka ROC).  And it was his handling of Russia that will end up defining Bach's presidency.

After Russia hosted the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi (the first Olympics of Bach's presidency), the details of their state-sanctioned doping operation came to light.  Russia's too important powerful a country to completely ostracize from world sports, but he also couldn't do nothing.  And, again, Bach knew what it was like for athletes to miss out on an Olympics for reasons beyond their control, which he didn't want for Russian athletes, either.  So, the solution was that the Russian Olympic Committee would be suspended, but individual Russian athletes would be allowed to compete without their flag or national colors.  Which is what gave us OAR in PyeongChang and ROC in Beijing.

Then, as soon as Russia's doping suspension ended, they invaded Ukraine.  That was a direct violation of the Olympic Charter, so Bach could be more forceful in his punishment.  But he still maintained his position that it wasn't fair for Russian athletes who have nothing to do with it to suffer because of the actions of their government.  So, a limited number of Russian athletes (with stricter standards than before) were allowed to compete in Paris as neutral athletes.

He was in a no-win situation with the entire Russia thing.  Bach couldn't come down too hard, but he also couldn't do nothing.  The solution had to be navigated delicately and obviously wasn't going to please everybody.  What he came up with, though, was the fairest to both sides.  It's not ideal, but neither is the situation.

And you can't talk about Russia without talking about doping as a whole.  Doping is always going to be a major issue that any IOC President has to deal with.  Bach was no different.  There was the Kamila Valiyeva situation in Beijing, which took nearly two years to resolve.  Then there was the Chinese swimmers in Paris, who were controversially allowed to compete despite previous failed doping tests that some felt had been covered up.  And, of course, the female boxers in Paris and the questions regarding transgender athletes that will carry over into the Coventry Presidency.

Meanwhile, Bach's signature achievement was his Olympic Agenda 2020, a strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic movement.  That included a complete overhaul of the bid process, which he felt took too long, had gotten too expensive and led to "too many losers."  Now, instead of cities bidding against each other, the IOC enters into a targeted dialogue with potential hosts before designating a candidate to move forward.  It's what led to the historic double-awarding of Paris 2024 and LA 2028 in 2017 and resulted in the Olympics having host cities locked in for the next decade.

Another goal of Olympic Agenda 2020 was sustainability.  Part of the reason the Olympics became so expensive was because cities were spending millions of dollars on sporting venues to use only during the Olympics with no planned post-Games use.  Bach wanted cities using temporary or existing venues (even if they're located outside the country) and to only build when absolutely necessary and there was an actual plan for future use. 

That came to fruition at the Paris Games, which followed through on the Olympic Agenda 2020 initiatives in such a glorious way!  I don't even think Bach could've envisioned how incredible it would turn out, and credit certainly belongs to the Paris organizers, too.  But, they set a new standard for future Olympic hosts to follow, using existing venues (including some non-traditional ones) and the city itself to form an incredible backdrop.  Not every city is Paris.  Everyone gets that.  But Paris was an example of exactly what Bach was looking for with Olympic Agenda 2020.

Paris was proof of concept for Olympic Agenda 2020.  It was also proof that a Western city can host the Games without breaking the bank, and has already encouraged plenty of other potential Olympic hosts to consider a bid.  That's a stark contrast to Bach's early tenure, when nobody wanted to host the Olympics.  Just as significantly, Paris was the reset that the Olympic Movement needed.  And a great way for Thomas Bach to go out.

There's no denying the impact that Thomas Bach left on the Olympic Movement.  Despite the IOC President being limited to 12 years in office, some of his supporters wanted him to run for another four-year term.  Bach vowed not to do that and leave office when his term ended, which was June 23, 2025.  It's not a secret that Kirsty Coventry was his preferred successor, either.  He had been grooming her to take over for him and made it very clear that he wanted her to win the election.  Which she did.

Now the IOC Presidency has officially changed hands.  Kirsty Coventry is the IOC President and Thomas Bach is the Honorary President for Life.  Whether she continues his policies or does things her own way remains to be seen (my guess is it'll probably be a combination of some sort, at least to start), but one thing is certain.  Thomas Bach left some big shoes for Kirsty Coventry to fill.