FrancsJeux innovates. For the second time. Last year, with the help of a jury of experts, we established the first ranking of the most influential French speakers in the Olympic movement over the last 12 months. It was dominated by Christophe Dubi, the director of the Olympic Games at the IOC. The podium was completed by Tony Estanguet, the president of the COJO Paris 2024, and Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA.
Change of course for 2021. At the end of an Olympic year still disrupted by the health crisis, but marked by the holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, it seemed relevant to us to distinguish men, women and institutions, but also the successes and initiatives, the most remarkable and noted.
Nine categories have been defined. For each, FrancsJeux determined five nominees. An international jury, made up of journalists and qualified personalities, was then brought together to select the winner of each category, its members having to designate one winner per category.
The voting is over. The results will be revealed during the second half of December. While waiting to know the winners of the first prize list of the Olympic movement FrancsJeux, here is the list of categories and nominees. And, in addition, the composition of the jury.
Leader of the year
- John Coates (Australia) – Carried the Brisbane 2032 file to victory
- Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe) – Expected to leave the IOC at the end of her mandate on the Athletes' Commission, she became an individual member. Will chair the coordination commission for the Brisbane 2032 Games
- Tony Estanguet (France) – President of the COJO Paris 2024, he was able to stay on course with the budget and the vision of the Games despite the turmoil of the health crisis
- Ivo Ferriani (Italy) – New President of GAISF, already member of the IOC Executive Board and President of the IBSF (International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation)
- Nicole Hoevertsz (Aruba) – Elected IOC Vice-President
Woman of the year
- María José Alcalá (Mexico) – President of the Mexican Olympic Committee, the first in the country
- Yael Arad (Israel) – First president of the Israeli Olympic committee, after being the country's first Olympic medalist
- Seiko Hashimoto (Japan) – President of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee
- Brigitte Henriques (France) – Elected president of the CNOSF, first woman in history to hold the position
- Petra Sörling (Sweden) – Elected president of the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation), first leader to chair the body since its creation
Newcomer of the year
- Johan Eliasch (Sweden) – Elected president of the FIS (International Ski Federation)
- Patrice Motsepe (South Africa) – Elected president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF)
- Petra Sörling (Sweden) – Elected President of the ITTF
- Luc Tardif (France) – Elected president of the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation)
- Emma Terho (Finland) – New President of the IOC Athletes’ Commission
The good idea of the CIO of the year
- The awarding of the Summer Games to Brisbane in 2032 eleven years before the deadline
- North Korea's suspension from the Beijing 2022 Games for boycotting Tokyo 2020
- The Virtual Olympic Series
- The launch of the first online sales platform for products derived from the Paris 2024, Milan-Cortina 2026 and Los Angeles 2028 Games
- The new Olympic motto, with the addition of the word “together”: “Faster, higher, stronger, together”
Performance of the year
- The Japanese Olympic team – 58 medals (including 27 gold) at the Tokyo Games, without a single supporter in the stands
- The Tokyo Games organizing committee – More than 670.000 anti-COVID tests carried out among those accredited between 1er July the day after the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games.
- The OCOG Paris 2024 – 1.000 days before the opening, its budget remains at 3,9 billion euros, compared to 3,8 billion at the creation of the OCOG.
- Thomas Bach – Re-elected for a second 4-year term with 93 votes for (only one against)
- The Los Angeles 2028 Games Organizing Committee - Seven years before the event, already five national sponsors, including three premium partners (Deloitte, Delta, Comcast)
The COJO Paris 2024 idea/initiative of the year
- The national Olympic and Paralympic flag tour
- The opening ceremony outside the stadium
- The handicap race against Eliud Kipchoge to win bibs for the Marathon for All
- The climate strategy (ambition to halve CO2 emissions)
- The handover ceremony between Tokyo and Paris organized at the Trocadéro
The personality of the sports movement who should have joined the IOC in 2021
- Bill Beaumont (England) – President of World Rugby
- Seiko Hashimoto (Japan) – President of TOCOG
- David Lappartient (France) – President of the UCI
- Richard McLaren (Canada) – Lawyer and consultant to international federations (boxing, weightlifting)
- Casey Wassermann (United States) – President of LA 2028
The best idea/initiative/action of the year from an international federation
- International Weightlifting Federation – The qualification of New Zealander Laurel Hubbard for the Tokyo Games, the first transgender athlete in history in an Olympic event
- International Cycling Union – The attribution of the 2025 Road World Championships to an African country, Rwanda, for the first time in history
- World Athletics – The suspension of the Russian Athletics Federation is maintained for a seventh year
- International Basketball Federation (FIBA) – The successful debut of 3×3 basketball at the Tokyo Games and the creation (with the NBA) of the Basketball Africa League
- FIFA – The evacuation of more than 160 members of the football community in Afghanistan after the capture of Kabul by the Taliban
The misstep of the year
- The European Football Super League
- North Korea absent from the Tokyo Games for health reasons
- Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, convicted by Swiss justice and forced to renounce all his functions in the Olympic movement
- Yoshiro Mori, the former president of the Tokyo Games organizing committee, pushed out after his sexist comments
- FIFA's plan for a football World Cup every two years
The jury of the prize list FrancsJeux of the year 2021
