A senior Olympic powerbroker "turned his back" on SportAccord President Marius Vizer on Tuesday and threw his full support behind IOC President Thomas Bach "in the latest backlash against" Vizer, according to the AP. A
non-Olympic sport, orienteering, meanwhile "raised the possibility of
breaking with SportAccord and setting up a new organization for the
federations." Association of National Olympic Committees President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah
said, "it is time to put personal matters aside" and stand behind Bach's
reform agenda "for the benefit and harmony of the Olympic movement." Sheikh
Ahmad and Vizer "had been allies until the SportAccord leader challenged
the IOC and sought to organize his own multi-sport games." Sheikh Ahmad "also took a direct swipe at Vizer by saying he would like to know how SportAccord shares its income with international federations and how judo distributes money to the national bodies." Vizer "is also president" of the Int'l Judo Federation. Sheikh Ahmad's support for Bach comes as no surprise, "but his intervention resonates symbolically, as he represents 205 national Olympic bodies and is considered arguably the second-most powerful official in the Olympic world" (AP, 5/26).
