IOC President Thomas Bach said that the organization, at the request of North and South Korea, "will support peace talks on the Korean peninsula with sports initiatives," according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. The countries marched under a unified flag at the opening and closing ceremonies of February's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang as "tense relations between the countries started to thaw." Bach said, "We have committed ourselves to the request of both (countries) to accompany peace talks through sports initiatives and meetings, encounters and support for athletes. There is more to come on short notice, in mid-term and long-term with regard to the upcoming Youth Olympics (in October in Buenos Aires), Tokyo 2020 Olympics and with the youth Games in Lausanne in 2020 and then of course the winter Games in Beijing 2022." Bach said that politicians had used the momentum to created by the Olympic Games to "further push for peace between the two nations" (REUTERS, 5/3).
BOXING REFORMS: Grohmann also reported Bach said that the Int'l Boxing Association (AIBA) is "slow in implementing necessary reforms and needs to act now or risk being banned" from the Tokyo 2020 Games. The IOC warned AIBA in February to "sort out its finances" and the sport's governance and anti-doping issues, but a progress report presented this week was "insufficient," Bach said. He added, "This report shows some progress and shows goodwill but still lacks execution and in some areas lacks substance. So our concerns on governance, financial and sporting integrity are continuing and we think that we need to see action on the plans" (REUTERS, 5/3).
TALKING IT OUT: YONHAP reported Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Lee Kee-heung said that he will "soon meet with the Asian Olympic chief over joint Korean teams at an upcoming continental multi-sport competition." He said that he will sit down with Olympic Council of Asia President Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah in Lausanne, Switzerland, on May 13. The topics for discussion will include organizing a joint Korean march at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games and assembling unified Korean teams in multiple sports at the quadrennial competition (YONHAP, 5/4).
