The IOC Executive Board met Monday morning in Costa Navarino, Greece. According to Thomas Bach, it only came to one real decision, but not just any decision: to include boxing in the program for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. After months of under siege, the noble art is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And sooner than it had hoped.
Thomas Bach "very confident"
The IOC granted provisional recognition to World Boxing on February 26, noting its efforts in governance and representativeness. Since then, the IF has welcomed more national federations. The latest arrival allowed China, Turkey, Sudan, Greece, Montenegro, and Slovakia to join the boxing family, which now has 84 members. Three weeks later, the Executive Board decided to accelerate the process and submit this proposal at the 144th IOC Session, which opens Wednesday. "I am very confident that the session will approve it, so that boxers around the world have the certainty that they can participate in the Olympic Games in 2028, if their national federation is recognized by World Boxing", Thomas Bach told the press.
Kit McConnell, IOC sports director, logically expects "an acceleration in the number of federations" affiliated with World Boxing, which will strengthen “already impressive figures”.The next fifteen months will be very busy since "federations must be members by the time the qualifying competitions begin", about two years before the Games. Some 250 boxers, representing 68 NOCs, had competed in Paris. "On behalf of the entire World Boxing team, I would like to thank the IOC Executive Board for the trust it has placed in our organization, reacted Boris van der Vorst, president of the FI, in a press release. We hope for a positive outcome when the IOC session meets this week. World Boxing understands that being part of the Olympic Games is a privilege, not a right, and I assure the IOC that if boxing is reinstated to the Los Angeles Games program, World Boxing is fully committed to being a trustworthy and reliable partner that will adhere to and respect the values of the Olympic Charter." The outcome seems to be a foregone conclusion, which will remove a significant thorn from the boxing world's side and will make it easier for World Boxing, among others, to convince partners.
Edgar Grospiron “in the footsteps of Tony Estanguet”
The Executive Committee also approved the framework of qualification systems for Dakar 2026 and Los Angeles 2028, and decided that the initial sports programme for Brisbane 2032 would be established at an IOC session in 2026. The IOC President did not, however, dwell on these issues, preferring to use his press conference to discuss the next two editions of the Winter Games. The Executive Board thus received "a precise and encouraging report from Milan-Cortina 2026", emphasizing in particular "the resounding success of the test events, greatly appreciated by the participating athletes and the international federations concerned".Thomas Bach also recalled several key indicators: the sale of almost half of the available tickets (600.000 tickets sold out of 1,5 million in total), SWG's recent study showing "the enthusiasm of Italy and Italians for these Games", and the massive influx of applications for the volunteer program, well in excess of the 18.000 positions to be filled.
Finally, the German leader welcomed the formation of the Organizing Committee for the 203 Winter Games in the French Alps. Edgar Grospiron, President of the OCOG, and Marie Barsacq, Minister of Sports, were able to present their battle plan for bringing this project to fruition. "As an Olympic champion, long involved in the Olympic movement, we are certain that Edgar Grospiron will follow in the footsteps of Tony Estanguet, that he will be a great partner for the IOC and that together we will be able to deliver fantastic Winter Games in the French Alps", commented Thomas Bach enthusiastically. The OCOG has defined several immediate priorities: structuring itself, finalizing the sports program and the master plan for the venues, opening discussions with potential commercial partners, and preparing the handover ceremony during the closing ceremony of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games. The search for the long-awaited general director by Edgar Grospiron should also be completed shortly.
