Bach: Rio Olympics showed that sport can unite the world
The Rio de Janeiro Olympics have shown that sport can bring people together in "an increasingly fragile world," according to International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach.
Bach said in a New Year's message posted on the IOC website Friday that the "unique power of sport to unite all of humanity is one of the most important things that the Olympic Games can give us in our troubled times.
"In a world where mistrust and uncertainty are on the rise, sport isa source of joy and inspiration for so many people, giving us hope that our shared humanity is stronger than the forces that want to divide us.
Bach named the Rio Games "marvellous" and "a rare moment of unity and solidarity for all humankind," highlighted the refugee team there as"a strong signal of hope" and said that half of the world’s population had tuned in to the Games.
The IOC president did not touch on Rio's vast problems to stage the Games amid a recession and shortly before the impeachment of the nation's president Dilma Rousseff.
The Games were also overshadowed by the Russian doping crisis, with the IOC under heavy attack for not imposing a blanket ban on theRussian team.
More details have emerged by now as Bach spoke of "shocking findings"and pledged a thorough investigation after which "the IOC will take all appropriate measures and sanctions.”
Bach again called for "a more efficient, more transparent and more robust anti-doping system.”
The IOC boss also highlighted the Olympic broadcast channel, called for further implementation of the Olympic Agenda 2020 amid cost-cutting efforts by Tokyo 2020 organizers, and called for a review of the candidature process for future Games.
Bach concluded that with the success of Rio in mind "we look towards2017 with a renewed sense of purpose."