February N.179

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FEBRUARY N.179

EOC

Congratulations PyeongChang 2018! - The curtain has closed on 16 days of fascinating competition at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, which IOC President Thomas Bach has rightly described as “the Games of the New Horizons”. The highlight of February was without a doubt the historic Games, which marked the culmination of years of preparation by athletes and their NOCs from all over the world. The European Olympic Committees (EOC) is proud that all 50 European NOCs (ENOCs) participated in the Games, with Kosovo competing for the first time. This made the EOC the only continental association in history to have all its NOC members competing in an edition of the Olympic Winter Games. “The Winter Olympic Games proved once again the power of Sport for unity - commented EOC President Janez Kocijancic - Our continent testified its leading role in the Olympic Movement and we are convinced our new big event the European Games will be instrumental to make Sport and Olympism even greater” Out of the 91 participating countries, 30 featured in the medal table, 22 of which were from Europe. Norway’s outstanding performance saw them top the medal table with 14 golds and 39 medals in total. The continent as a whole brought home an extraordinary total of 210 medals. Apart from the outstanding success at PyeongChang 2018, the EOC has one more reason to congratulate Norway. Legendary cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen became the most decorated female winter Olympian in history as she reached an incredible total of 14 medals (7 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze), overtaking the Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjorndalen, who boasts 13 Olympic medals (8 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze). The world record score by Germany’s Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot in the pairs figure skating was another memorable moment of the Games. There were also a number of positive outcomes for Europe from the IOC meetings in PyeongChang, with the election of Czech NOC President Jiří Kejval as an IOC Member, Slovak skeet shooter Danka Bartekova appointed as Athletes’ Commission Vice-Chair, and the election of Finnish Emma Terho (ice hockey) as one of the three new Members. However, the greatest success of the PyeongChang 2018 Games was the unison of North and South Korea, who entered the Opening Ceremony under the same flag before competing as a joint women’s ice hockey team. President Bach stated: “The Olympic Games are an homage to the past and an act of faith for the future.” He thanked both countries for sharing with the world their faith in a peaceful future and stressed how sport can bring people together and build bridges in fragile times. The Olympic flag is now entrusted to the organisers of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games - Beijing. Well done PyeongChang 2018 and good luck to Beijing!

3rd Winter Piotr Nurowski Prize - Candidatures for the 2018 EOC Best Young European athlete award have opened. To be eligible for the Winter Piotr Nurowski Prize, young winter sports athletes must have turned 18 by 31 December 2018. Athletes are nominated by their respective National Olympic Committees. The criteria for nominees include performance during competitions as well as the athletes’ general conduct and level of fair play, and reflection of the Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship. The prize is awarded each year in memory of the late Piotr Nurowski, a man who embodied the Olympic values and provided an invaluable service to the EOC. The award aims to provide a platform for young athletes to pursue a career in elite- level sport, as well as inspiring future generations to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Since 2016, the winter prize has been awarded at the spring EOC Seminar, while the summer prize is presented at the annual EOC General Assembly.

2018 FEBRUARY EOC Newsletter

During last November’s 46th General Assembly in Zagreb, a new process was introduced where all five of the shortlisted young athletes are awarded a trophy and a scholarship, rather than just the winner. The first place recipient is now given €15,000, second is given €8,000, third is given €5,000, and fourth and fifth are given €3,000. Candidatures must be submitted before 16 March 2018.

ENOCs

ALBANIA – The Albanian National Olympic Committee in cooperation with Albanian Radio Television held "The 10 best athletes of 2017" - a special event organised on February 20 to celebrate the athletes proposed by their Federations for their sports results during the year. President of the Albanian NOC Viron Bezhani, and Vice president Vojo Malo, conducted the event attended by the Ambassador of Japan, Makoto Ito, special guest as Olympic Games 2020 are getting closer, Vice Ministers of Education, Sports and Youth, Konstantin Shkurti and Shpati Kolgega, by Deputy Fidel Ylli, and by Eduard Shalsi President of the Albanian Federation of Chess. Members of the Executive Committee and Presidents and Secretaries General of Albanian Sports Federations were also in attendance. Were also present the Advisor for Sport to the President of the Republic Leonard Tase, the Vice-Mayor of Tirana Abaz Hado and other Albanian sports representatives. Izmir Smajlaj and Luiza Gega (Athletics), Jon Vrenozi (Judo), Eriglent Prizreni (wrestling), Elord Gjana (Taekwondo), Nikol Merizaj (swimming), Endrit Hysenagolli (Basketball), Erblira Bici (Volleyball), Krenar Zeneli (Boxing) and Liridona Rexha (Table Tennis) were the athletes who deserved the best trophy in the sport they represent, while volleyball player Gazmend Husaj received the "Fair Play" prize.

ANDORRA - Whilst Andorra’s elite skiers were enjoying an unforgettable Olympic experience in PyeongChang, more than 60 veteran skiers from Andorra and neighbouring countries took part in the 29th Manuel Cerqueda Memorial Trophy. The giant slalom competition took place on the picturesque L’Esparver de Soldeu-El Tarter ski run, with the trophy being sponsored by private bank Andbank, a partner of the Andorran Olympic Committee. The winners of the different men’s categories were Ivan del Moral, Tomàs Mijares and David Rous, and the top three in the women’s categories were Judith Lluent, Meritxell Pifarré and Gabriela Puncernau. The competition was set up to pay tribute to the pioneers of skiing, Andorra’s national sport, and in recognition of the ongoing work of the first President of the Andorra Ski Club, Manuel Cerqueda i Escaler. Under his leadership, Andorra has been able to begin relationship-building with neighbouring countries, as well as establishing skiing as the country’s national sport.The ceremony was chaired by Cerqueda i Escaler, who is also President of the Andbank Group, and Amàlia Soriano, Director of the Andbank office in Canillo, the largest of the seven parishes in the sixth-smallest nation in Europe.

BELGIUM - President of the Belgian NOC Baron Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, has become an individual IOC Member. The decision to switch his membership from a Member representing a National Olympic Committee was approved at the 132nd IOC Session held in PyeongChang prior to the Olympic Winter Games. Beckers-Vieujant will be able to continue his role as Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

CYPRUS – The Cyprus Olympic Committee’s seventh Pierre de Coubertin Conference was held on 20 February, focusing on the topic: “The Olympic values as an educational system for better quality life.”The conference was attended by 120 students from four educational institutes in Cyprus: Pancyprian Gymnasium (Nicosia), Paralimni Lyceum (Famagusta), Larnaca Technical School and Polemidia Lyceum (Limassol). Students from Kato Tithorea Lyceum (Fthiotida) in Greece also attended. Students presented their own approach to the topic and were free to choose how they presented it. The presentations were followed by an open discussion.The conference was attended by Cyprus’ Minister of Education and Culture Kostas Kadis, as well as the President of the Cyprus Sports Association Kleanthis Georgiades.The students from Greece enjoyed a guided tour of Nicosia after the conference to learn more about the history of Cyprus.

2018 FEBRUARY EOC Newsletter

CZECH REPUBLIC - President of the Czech Olympic Committee Jiri Kejval was elected as an individual IOC Member for an eight-year term at the IOC Session in PyeongChang 51-year-old Kejval is an international rowing champion and successful entrepreneur. He has been President of the Czech Olympic Committee since 2012. In the same year, he also joined the IOC’s Marketing Commission. Under his leadership, the Czech Olympic Committee organised an excellent EOC General Assembly in Prague in November 2015, as well as the successful Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly in November 2017.

DENMARK - President Niels Nygaard sent condolences to the Royal Danish House after the sad passing of HRH Prince Henrik on 13 February, on behalf of the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF). Nygaard said: “Prince Henrik's death affects all of Denmark and us in the DIF, and we remember fondly having the pleasure of his company at the Athens 2004 and London 2012 Olympic Games, as well as the Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games.” The President noted that he will remember Prince Henrik as a man with so many interests and passion, including sailing. Prince Henrik’s son Crown Prince Frederik has been an IOC Member in Denmark since 2009.

FRANCE – France hosted an Olympic Festival for the first time, from 10 – 24 February, in Grenoble, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the city hosting the Olympic Winter Games. The innovative idea was proposed by the IOC and was organised in partnership with the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF). The Olympic Festival is a concept designed to promote the Olympic Games and the Olympic Winter Games at a local level, through interactive events organised by different NOCs. The event, which took place at Grenoble Sports Palace, was free to attend and offered an Olympic Fanzone. This must-see area enabled people to follow the events of PyeongChang 2018, as well as meet former and current champions. People were also able to learn about and try a number of different sports.

FINLAND – Ice hockey player Emma Terho has been elected as a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission. Terho has represented Finland at five Olympic Winter Games, winning bronze at Nagano in 1998 and at Vancouver in 2010. Following approval by the IOC Session, Terho and the other elected candidate, USA cross-country skier Kikkan Randall, became IOC Members for an eight- year term. The pair will replace current IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair Angela Ruggiero and Adam Pengilly, whose terms are ending following their election at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010. Prior to the start of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry was appointed as the incoming Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission after a vote of confidence from her fellow members.

GREECE – The Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) and Cyprus Olympic Committee have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focused on collaborating in sport. The official signing ceremony was held in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia. The signing was led by Cyprus Olympic Committee President Dinos Michaelides and HOC President Spyros Capralos. Greece’s Ambassador in Nicosia Ilias Fotopoulos and Cyprus Sports Organisation President Kleanthis Georgiades were also in attendance.The two parties have pledged to work more closely to increase the number of international matches between the two countries, the participation of athletes in sports meetings and international sports meetings, the exchange of knowledge related to sports issues, and the invitation to take part in conferences, lectures, seminars and academic meetings. Speaking after signing the MoU, Capralos stated it was a “very important day”, noting that it was “the first official cooperative agreement we have signed with another Olympic Committee.”

2018 FEBRUARY EOC Newsletter

He added: “Taking part in the Olympic Games is very important and when we see Cypriot athletes competing in the Games, we feel the same joy as when Greek athletes are competing.” Michaelides stated that the MoU is confirmation of the pre-existing close ties with Greece, adding: “It is a great honour for the Cyprus Olympic Committee and for any country in the world to sign a MoU with the HOC. Cyprus can greatly benefit from the experience and knowledge of Greece, which is already evident from the existing cooperation between the Cyprus Sports Organisation and the Sports General Secretariat of Greece.”

IRELAND - Former Operations Director of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) Peter Sherrard has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI). He will take up the post in May this year, replacing current CEO Stephen Martin. He has held several management positions during his career, including Marketing Manager for Ryanair in Italy, Head of Communications at Ryanair, FAI Director of Communications, FAI Interim Commercial Director, and his current position, FAI Operations Director, which he has held since 2014. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Sherrard is a fluent French and Italian speaker, after living and working in both countries. OCI President Sarah Keane said: “We are very pleased that we have been successful in attracting a person of the calibre and experience of Peter to the Olympic Council of Ireland”, adding that his experience and leadership skills will bring an added value to the OCI and will be perfectly in line with the programme of reform recently launched in Dublin.”

KOSOVO – The Kosovo NOC had plenty of reason to celebrate this month. The NOC made its Olympic Winter Games debut at PyeongChang 2018, with the country’s first ever winter Olympian competing 10 years after the country gained independence. Kosovo was one of six countries competing in the Winter Games for the first time. Ecuador, Eritrea, Malaysia, Nigeria and Singapore also made their debuts at PyeongChang 2018. On 16 February, IOC President Thomas Bach met Kosovo NOC President Besim Hasani and Secretary General Shasivar Haxhijaj and congratulated them for their first participation in an Olympic Winter Games. Kosovo officially marked its independence from Serbia 10 years earlier, on 17 February 2008. However, the Kosovo NOC was only granted IOC recognition in 2014, becoming the 50th ENOC.

Kosovo’s sole athlete at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, alpine skier Albin Tahiri, celebrated his 29th birthday at the Winter Games on 15 February. When Slovenian-born Tahiri started skiing, Kosovo was not yet an independent country.

Tahiri, who began skiing in Slovenia at the age of seven, was given the chance to represent Kosovo due to it being the birthplace of his father. He was one of the 271 athletes to have received an IOC scholarship through the Olympic Solidarity programme, with the pioneering athlete entering all five men’s alpine skiing events at the Winter Games. However, he specialises in the speed events: downhill, super-G and Alpine combined.

LITHUANIA – The Lithuanian School Games 2018 took place across the country from 2 - 3 February, with more than 5000 pupils participating. The Olympic Festival in Jonava, Joninės Valley, saw this year's largest gathering of young athletes. NOC President Daina Gudzineviciute attended the opening. During the festival, pupils from the Druskininkai "Revival" School were crowned the best mountain skiing team, ahead of second place Mažeikiai Spring Day Primary School.

Meanwhile, Vilnius Jesuit High School students proved to be the best chess players, surpassing the junior high schools of Kaunas Jesuit Gymnasium and Šiauliai Julius Janonis Gymnasium, as well as 20 other schools from across the country. The 3x3 basketball finals held in the country’s rural areas were also very popular. The girl’s championship title was awarded to the Gruzdžiai Gymnasium of Šiauliai District, whilst Kučius Gymnasium from the Pasvalys District were crowned the boy’s winners.

2018 FEBRUARY EOC Newsletter

PORTUGAL – A new project, designed to tackle match fixing, entitled "Training to Protected Reporting System for Professional and Grassroot Sport" was launched on 20 February in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. The project is being funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the Centre for International Studies of the Lisbon University Institute. The launch was attended by the Portuguese Olympic Committee Director General João Paulo Almeida and Project Manager Joana Gonçalves, as well as representatives from the Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth, the Italian NOC (CONI), the Italian Government Department of Sport, Transparency International Slovenia, and the European Association for Safety in Sport (ESSA). In addition to the partners present at the launch, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart from Italy, the Criminology Institute of the KU Leuven University (Belgium) and the Autonomous University of Madrid will also be part of the project.

ROMANIA - The seventh edition of the first European marathon on snow in Europe, the Brasov Marathon, this month finalised preparations for the 2018 race. The historic marathon is focused on youth and the environment. It is intended to encourage Romanian children to adopt a healthy lifestyle, as well as highlighting the beautiful nature and mountains in Romania. Among the contestants last year was Ilie Rosu, the Romanian marathon runner, who has completed over 190 races under the Romanian flag.

SERBIA – President of United World Wrestling (UWW) Nenad Lalovic’s election onto the IOC Executive Board was approved by the IOC Session in PyeongChang. Lalovic will be the representative of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) for a four-year term. Lalovic has been a member of the Olympic Solidarity Commission since 2017.

SPAIN – The King of Spain, HM Felipe VI, has bestowed the title "Royal" onto the Spanish Olympic Academy. It means the organisation will now be known as the Spanish Royal Olympic Academy. The move was approved following a request from the Academy's President, Conrado Durántez, and the President of the Spanish Olympic Committee Alejandro Blanco. Spain's Academy is the oldest in the world, with the royal recognition being part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. As part of academy’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the Presidents of the Latin American Olympic Academies later attended the 30th Congress of the Spanish- Speaking Pan-American Association of Olympic Academies in Madrid. The Spanish Olympic Academy, the very first National Olympic Academy, was created in Madrid on 25 November 1968, inspired by the International Olympic Academy that was founded seven years earlier in Olympia. There are currently 146 National Olympic Academies which, together with the International Olympic Academy, aim to spread and defend the Olympic values, first conceived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin.

TURKEY – At the IOC Session in PyeongChang, Turkish Olympic Committee (TOC) President and IOC Vice-President Prof Dr Uğur Erdener saw his IOC membership linked to his function as President of World Archery changed to membership as an individual. Erdener will carry on his duties both as Chair of the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission and as an IOC representative in the Independent Testing Agency (ITA).

*Earlier this month, at the TOC headquarters, judoka Mihraç Akkuş received the prize money for his award as the third EOC Best European Young Athlete. The Turkish judoka has excelled in the past few years and appears to be a great prospect for the future. So far, he has won a gold medal at the 2017 European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Gyor (HUN), as well as European and World Cadets titles. Akkuş, who was nominated by the Turkish Olympic Committee, received the third highest number of votes for the Piotr Nurowski Best Young Athlete Award in Zagreb during the EOC 46th General Assembly.

2018 FEBRUARY EOC Newsletter

GAMES OF THE SMALL STATES OF EUROPE

On 16 February, officials from the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) visited Montenegro. In May 2019, Montenegro will welcome 1,500 athletes to the bi-annual Games for the first time in the country’s history. From 27 May - 1 June next year, the 18th edition of the Games will welcome athletes from Cyprus, Iceland, Monaco, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, San Marino, and hosts Montenegro. Athletes will compete in athletics, bowling, volleyball, beach volleyball, basketball, swimming, judo, shooting, tennis and table tennis. The towns of Budva, Podgorica, Bar, Cetinje and Tivat will all host events. GSSE Secretary General Angelo Vicini, and President of the Technical Commission Jean Pierre Schöbel, stated that while the Games are primarily a sporting event, they will hopefully have a much wider impact. Vicini and Schoebel were guests of the Montenegrin Olympic Committee for a few days. Vicini said: “The Games will be a great opportunity for Montenegro, not just from a sporting perspective but also from a tourism point of view. There will also be the opportunity for each country’s leaders to discuss political and economic issues, as well as new possibilities of cooperation between the states.” After visiting the venues, GSSE officials were unanimous in their confidence in Montenegro to host a successful Games. Speaking after the visit, Schobel said: “We had meetings with the Local Organising Committee and representatives of the Montenegro NOC. They are doing a great job and have provided us with a comprehensive document with all the necessary technical details. I was impressed with the venues we visited, some of which are already at an international level. I have every confidence that by next year everything will be in order and will be ready for the Games.” A member of the Montenegrin Technical Committee Igor Vušurović, announced that the Montenegro NOC had sent an invitation to IOC President Thomas Bach to be a guest at the Games. “It will be his first official visit to Montenegro, which is a great honour for us. As hosts, we have to ensure that we highlight our warm hospitality and opportunities for tourism.” Prior to the Opening Ceremony of the Games, the Association of the GSSE General Assembly will be held in Budva from 24-25 May 2019.

EUROPEAN GAMES

Whilst the world of sport has been focused on the Olympic Winter Games, the organisation for the Minsk 2019 European Games has continued to make steady progress. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the second edition of the European Games were discussed during a meeting of the Minsk 2019 European Games Organising Committee (MEGOC). The meeting was chaired by Belarus Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov. The MEGOC also considered the re-opening of Dinamo Stadium, which is currently under refurbishment, but remains an option for the centre point of the torch relay. This month’s preparations progressed well, with the continued close cooperation of the EOC Coordination Commission (CoCom) helping keep things on track. A small working group from Rome visited Minsk and discussed topics such as Games-time accommodation and offices. In an interview with Belarusian national media agency BelTA News, the Belarusian Communications and Information Minister Sergei Popkov stated that Wi-Fi access will be provided at every key sports facility during the Games. Popkov said: “Different ways to provide communication services to participants and guests of the European Games are under consideration. The sports venues that will host competitions and training, fanzones, the Athletes’ Village, hotels, and the press centre will all be equipped with everything necessary to provide high-quality communication services, including Wi-Fi access.” Student accommodation will house the athletes and sports delegations during the competitions and its technical capabilities will be modernised prior to the Games to provide free Wi-Fi services in all residential apartments. Popkov added: “We are paying close attention to the fanzones. They will attract tens of thousands of people, and we must ensure there are no problems with communication there. Free Wi-Fi is also available at virtually every hotel, restaurant, and café.” Wireless network connection will also be available at the main sports venue, Dinamo Stadium, which is expected to have 292 Wi-Fi hotspots.

2018 FEBRUARY EOC Newsletter

From 1-3 March 2018 the EOC leadership and experts will be in Minsk to meet with the MEGOC leadership and heads of departments to discuss progress in various functional areas for the Games. Sport operations, transport, broadcast operations, Games services, protocol, ceremonies, press operations, logistics, venues, NOC services, medical and anti-doping, and communications are the main areas that the CoCom delegation will address during the joint meetings. EOC President Janez Kocijančič, EOC Vice-President Niels Nygaard, EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi, Coordination Commission Chair Spyros Capralos and other EOC CoCom members, as well as the EOC’s team of experts, will attend the meetings. The second edition of the European Games will be held from 21-30 June 2019. The Games will feature 15 sports with 189 medal events in 23 disciplines.

OLYMPIC GAMES

PYEONGCHANG 2018 – For the first time in history, a delegation from the Holy See, led by Monsignor Melchor Sanchez De Toca Y Alameda, Under-Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, attended an IOC Session. The delegation attended the 132nd Session in PyeongChang as observers. The Vatican delegation previously attended the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Monsignor Sanchez De Toca said: “It is a unique event in a very symbolic area, just a few kilometres away from the boundary between North and South Korea.” He also added that Pope Francis wanted to send a special greeting to the IOC and to all the athletes taking part in the Games.

*Seven ENOCs finished in the top 10 of the medal table, led by first place Norway and runners up Germany. The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, France and Austria also finished in the top 10, affirming Europe’s dominance in winter sports. The Games also provided a special platform for North and South Korea to build on the relations built in PyeongChang, demonstrating the power of sport as a tool for diplomacy.

TOKYO 2020 – The Tokyo 2020 Japan House, inside the Gangneung Olympic Park in PyeongChang, was particularly popular among fans. Attractions included a booth that used an advanced 3D scanning system to insert life-sized digital avatars of people on famous Tokyo attractions. The Japanese Culture Experience corner was also very popular, allowing visitors to take on the challenge of creating origami cranes. On social media, the hashtag #Tokyo2020JHouse helped spread excitement for the Tokyo 2020 Games and the attraction of the city of Tokyo to people all over the world. *At the very end of this month the Organising Committee unveiled the official Olympic and Paralympic mascots, following an evaluation of three shortlisted design sets by elementary schoolchildren across Japan and at Japanese schools overseas. 205,755 classes from 16,769 schools took part in the process. Design Set A secured the largest number of classroom votes - receiving 109,041 votes, while Design Set B attracted 61,423 votes and Design Set C received 35,291. The results of the vote were announced in front of around 600 children at Hoyonomori Gakuen School in Tokyo, one of the schools which participated in the voting process. The ceremony was live-streamed to allow children all over the country to share the moment and discover the winner in real time. Public viewings were also organised in several schools. The designer of the winning mascots is Ryo Taniguchi, living in Fukuoka, in southern Japan. He graduated as an art major from Cabrillo College in California, in the United States, and is currently active as a character designer/illustrator. The names of the mascots will now be decided by the Mascot Selection Panel and officially announced next summer.

The tradition of creating mascots for the Olympic Games started in 1968 at the Olympic Winter Games in Grenoble, France. The first summer Games mascots were introduced in 1972 at the Munich Olympic Games.

2018 FEBRUARY EOC Newsletter

WADA

Benjamin Cohen (SUI) has been appointed as Director General of the Independent Testing Authority (ITA), a body established last year to provide anti-doping services to International Federations (IFs) and event organisers. Cohen, who is currently director of the European office and of IFs relations at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), was selected by the ITA Foundation Board at a meeting in Lausanne last month. Cohen has a strong sporting background, having held various positions at the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the United Nations Office of Sport for Development and Peace in New York, and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). He also makes regular appearances as a guest speaker, as well as being an expert in task forces and commissions at the United Nations, the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the IOC, the EOC and IFs. At the EOC General Assembly in Zagreb last November, Cohen updated the 50 ENOCs on WADA’s latest activities. Additionally, Cohen also lectures on dispute resolution and international sports governance in various universities worldwide and is also President of the Legal Commission for the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism, based in Switzerland. Cohen is set to play a key role in the global fight against doping in the coming months and years.

MISCELLANEOUS

The International Sports Press Association (AIPS) honoured more than 70 veteran journalists this month, with over 100 guests gathering for a special ceremony organised at Casa Italia during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. On 19 February, AIPS continued its unique tradition of celebrating longevity in Olympic journalism - an initiative that began after the London 2012 Games. More than 100 guests, including the over 70 awardees, were present at the event, tagged "Journalists on the Podium", which celebrated journalists who have covered six or more Olympic Winter Games. Several IOC Members, including Ivo Ferriani (Italy), Princess Nora of Liechtenstein, Marisol Casado (Spain), Sergey Bubka (Ukraine) and Austin Sealy (Barbados), handed out pens in the shape of the PyeongChang 2018 torch to the veteran journalists. Ferriani, who is also the President of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), welcomed everyone to Casa Italia describing it as “a taste of Italy not just in the food but also in the image.” Speaking to journalists, he added: "For us, your work is necessary to promote what we do. We produce emotions and you are able to send those emotions all over the world.” Among the awardees were Peter Frei (Switzerland), Hiro Yakushi (Japan), Hugo Steinegger (Switzerland) and Giuliano Bevilacqua (Italy), all of whom have covered 13 Olympic Winter Games.

AIPS President Gianni Merlo (Italy) unveiled the latest initiative of AIPS - the AIPS Sport Media Awards, saying: “In a bid to do that (invest in culture) we have launched this new AIPS Sport Media Awards - a celebration that is very important because we have to recognise what we are able to do. We have to recognise our work. We have to give importance to our work in this moment which is difficult for the newspaper, television, for everybody.” A report of the AIPS event is available on the AIPS website, provided by AIPS Young Reporter from Nigeria Chibuogwu Nnadiegbulam.

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