The exercise has become ritual in the Olympic movement. But it remains eagerly awaited. True to tradition, the IOC revealed on Tuesday September 5 the composition of its numerous commissions – no less than 33 – for the year 2023. It was announced by Thomas Bach himself.
What should we remember? Without being the most innovative in recent years, the class of 2023 reinforces several trends. She also has a surprise in store.
First trend: number. With its commissions, the IOC casts its net more and more widely. With thirty-three groups, the largest of which have more than forty members, nearly 600 people (583) can today claim a direct link with the Olympic body.
Another lesson: parity is strengthening. It has even reversed slightly, with the number of women (296) now exceeding the number of men (287). The IOC notes this with pride: only 20% of seats were occupied by women in 2013, the year Thomas Bach took the helm of the ship. In ten years, the balance has been established. Good performance.
Women in force, therefore. But the class of 2023 demonstrates it unambiguously: they are not just in numbers. Fourteen of the 33 commissions are chaired by women, a percentage of 42,42%, including some of the most strategic in the IOC.
Finnish Emma Terho heads the athletes' commission. In this capacity, she also sits on the executive commission. Norwegian Kristin Kloster chairs the coordination commission for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games. Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry chairs the coordination commissions for the 2026 Youth Games in Dakar and the Brisbane 2032 Games. Another former swimmer , Nicole Hoevertsz, chairs the coordination commission for the Los Angeles 2028 Games. Burundian Lydia Nsekera was placed at the head of the gender equality, diversity and inclusion commission. Slovakian Danka Bartekova chairs the Marketing and Digital Engagement Commission. Finally, the former president of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, heads the future host city commission.
Now the surprise. Determined to continue to explore electronic sports without stopping, the IOC created a commission. It is chaired by Frenchman David Lappartient, also president of the UCI and the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF). A logical choice, the Breton having led the IOC liaison group on e-sport for several years.
Assumed objective of the new creation of the Olympic body: “ Attract new audiences and offer new opportunities for both athletes and fans. » After two editions of the Olympic Esports Series, then the organization last June in Singapore of the first Olympic Esports Week, the IOC is opening a new door. Thomas Bach assures us: “ The IOC believes that virtual sports have the ability to complement and enhance traditional Olympic sports, and that they can provide new opportunities for athletes and fans to engage with the Olympic movement.. » Not won in advance.
Finally, we must remember from the 2023 vintage that the IOC has not excluded the Russian representatives. Yelena Isinbayeva, the double Olympic pole vault champion, retains her place on the athletes' commission. Elected by her peers during the Rio 2016 Games, she will end her eight-year mandate next year in Paris. She also sits on the Olympic Education Commission.
Shamil Tarpishchev, president of the Russian Tennis Federation, also retains his place in the organization chart. A member of the IOC since 1996, he is part of the casting of the Olympisme365 commission. Irony of history: the presence within the same commission of the Briton Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, one of the most fervent opponents of a return of Russian athletes to international competitions.
The next IOC commission meeting week is scheduled for November. Carbon impact requires, it will take place remotely.
