His name is closely associated with the recent history of the IOC. Denis Owald, 76, who joined the Olympic institution in 1991, is now sixth among active members in order of seniority. The former Swiss rower has been on the executive board since 2017, after a first twelve-year lease in the early 2000s.
A history of the instance, whose analysis of the Olympic movement never veers into wooden language. Present last month at the Winter Youth Games in Gangwon, he spoke at length for FrancsJeux four of the most debated issues in Olympic news.
The new host city selection process
“The reform was necessary because the old process, with an application phase and a sessional vote, had flaws. It involved far too many players – lobbyists, consultants – who cost cities a lot of time and money, and made them believe in their chances. It also led to a race for votes, with the excesses that we experienced. The members of the IOC did not all have the technical knowledge of the file. They voted according to motivations which did not always ensure the best choice. And then, this reform was launched at a time when we were lacking candidates. For the 2022 Winter Games, there were only China and Kazakhstan, which was not ideal in terms of human rights. Today, the dialogue with interested cities begins much earlier. It allows us to support them, prevent them from embarking on costly and unhelpful constructions, and quickly dismiss projects without any chance of success. There is no longer a set schedule, which allows decisions to be made much earlier. For Brisbane 2032, we secured a candidacy well in advance which could, over time, have lost its mobilization. Of course, the new process removes members from the decision. The proposal presented in session is almost impossible not to approve. The vote becomes a formality. But a formality for the good of the Games. »
The question of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Paris 2024 Games
“It was very delicate for the IOC. The executive commission met very often to discuss it, with at one point videoconference meetings almost every week. Initially, what were perceived as sanctions against athletes were in reality protective measures, to ensure the safety and regularity of competitions. Then we consulted. The national Olympic committees, the athletes' commissions... It turned out that the vast majority of athletes were in favor of a return of the Russians and Belarusians to the game. At the executive commission, we then said to ourselves that the time had come to review our strategy. But the criteria we have defined are strict enough so that the delegation of neutral athletes will be small in number at Paris 2024. According to our estimates, there should not be more than 50 or 60 Russians, compared to the usual 350. Vladimir Putin said he would not prevent their participation, but his speech is political. In the end, I think we found the right balance. Rejecting athletes based solely on possession of a passport was in contradiction with the Olympic values and Charter. We wanted to respect a principle of the Games: to bring together and not to divide. »
The upcoming creation of the eSports Olympics
“The announcement of Thomas Bach at the opening of the Mumbai session last year surprised many. But we must remember that Agenda 2020+5 plans to integrate the electronic sports community, so that its members apply the Olympic values and to lead them to practice more active disciplines. We are talking about 3 billion people in the world. It was difficult to leave them aside. We didn't want the train to leave without the IOC getting involved. Our idea was also to encourage international federations to integrate electronic sports. To reach a wider community, but also for commercial reasons. The financial interests are large, but the games are owned by private publishers and companies. International federations must be able to take their part. The launch of the eSports Olympics was announced by Thomas Bach, of course, but we did not go very far with this idea. It will be discussed. Japan has expressed interest in hosting them. But one thing is certain: electronic sports will not be integrated into the Olympic Games program. They will have separate events. »
Switzerland selected for privileged dialogue phase for the 2038 Winter Games
“The story of this Winter Games bid is quite unexpected. After successive failures, the Swiss Olympic committee no longer wanted to go there. But the Swiss ski federation realized that the country was organizing world championships or World Cups between 2022 and 2030 in all Winter Games disciplines, except speed skating. The idea then emerged: why not get together and prepare an application. The All-Switzerland Games project was born like this. At one point, some even thought that the decision would be automatic: bring together all these events to have the Games. With a national project, and no longer carried by a canton, the risk of a referendum which would bring everything down was almost zero. But the votes, and the fact that everything takes longer in Switzerland than almost anywhere else, stick with us. The application was able to collect verbal declarations of intent from the different decision-making levels, but no formal commitments. The future host commission estimated that Switzerland would lack time, for 2030, to obtain the necessary guarantees, locally and nationally. For 2034, it was certain that the Games would return to Salt Lake City. She told the Swiss: take the time to finalize your file, with all the necessary support. They now have two or three years to achieve this. That should be enough. But Switzerland felt like a victim of its democratic system. »
