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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER N. 165
EOC
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An Olympic summer. For the last two months, the Olympic family has focused its attention firmly on Rio 2016, the
first Olympic Games to be held in South America. The Games were a great success for the athletes of Europe – Bravo
everybody!
Once again, the Athletes’ Village became a global meeting place where peace and
friendship built ties between young athletes from every continent.
But now we’re back to reality. Reports and studies are being undertaken to assess
the Rio 2016 Games and, above all, ensure that the next Olympic Games benefit from
the experience of their predecessor.
We would like to congratulate the organisers for their goodwill and commend every
country for its achievements and sportsmanship. Well done!
The 3rd Executive Committee meeting of the year was held in Bratislava upon invitation from the Slovakian NOC,
whose President, Frantisek Chmelar, is a member of the committee. The 2019 European Games was one of the main
items on the agenda and the meeting was chaired by EOC Vice-President and acting President Janez Kocijančič, who
took on the latter role after EOC President temporarily stepped aside from all
Olympic positions last month, pending the outcomes of legal proceedings in Brazil.
Speaking about Hickey’s situation, Kocijančič said: “Today the EOC unanimously
confirmed our shared belief that Patrick Hickey is innocent and we are now
exploring ways to help him completely clear his name so he can return to his
family and Olympic duties.”
Kocijančič added: “We have had a very productive meeting here today in
Bratislava. Despite the absence of our elected President, the EOC is operating as
normal and pressing forwards in all areas and with every project. The 2019
European Games is our absolute priority and every Executive Committee member is united behind our course of
action.”
The Executive Committee agreed on the critical importance of confirming a host city by the time of the General
Assembly in Minsk from 21-22 October.
Other major points included preparations for next month’s EOC General Assembly in Minsk, the upcoming launch of
the EOC’s brand new website and preparations for the summer and winter editions of the European Youth Olympic
Festival in 2017.
Congratulations. Congratulations to the four new members elected to the IOC Athletes’ Commission in Rio! The new
members include three Europeans: Britta Heidemann (GER), Daniel Gyurta
(HUN) and Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS). The fourth and final member is Ryu Seung-
min (KOR).
These athletes replaced outgoing members Claudia Bokel (GER), Dae Sung
Moon (KOR), Alexander Popov (RUS) and Yumilka Ruiz Luaces (CUB), who had
all been elected to the IOC Athletes’ Commission at the Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games for a term of eight years.
A few days earlier, the Commission chose American Angela Ruggiero as its new
Chair and appointed Tony Estanguet from France as Vice-Chair.
2016 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER EOC Newsletter 2
COMMISSIONS
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The European Youth Olympic Festival Commission’s annual meeting was hosted by the Spanish NOC at its
headquarters in Madrid. On 21 September, the Secretary General of the
Spanish NOC Victor Sanchez, who is Chair of the Commission, welcomed his
colleagues, prominent leaders from different European NOCs and EYOF
Manager Katerina Nycova.
Participants addressed the organisation of forthcoming events – the 2017
Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Erzurum (TUR) and the 2017
Summer EYOF in Györ (HUN). They also discussed items relating to the 25 th
EYOF anniversary celebrations planned in Minsk during the EOC General
Assembly in October.
ENOCs
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CROATIA – On 10 September, the Croatian National Olympic Committee celebrated its 25th anniversary. The EOC's
acting President Janez Kocijančič and Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi attended the celebrations, having been
invited by their friend, NOC President Zlatko Matesa, who is also a member of the
EOC Executive Committee. Delegations from 29 European NOCs attended the event.
They were joined by IOC President Thomas Bach at the Presidential Palace, where
they were received by the Croatian President Ms Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic. Also at
the reception were Honorary IOC Member Antun Vrdoljak, Rio 2016 Olympic javelin
champion Sara Kolak, Vice-President of the Croatian NOC and the President of the
Club of Croatian Olympians Zoran Primorac and the Secretary General of the
Croatian Olympic Committee Josip Cop.
Following a midday press conference, the guests enjoyed the main ceremony event
at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The Croatian NOC was founded 25 years ago,
and their athletes won a record 10 medals in Rio, including five golds.
Many of Croatia’s medal winners were present at the celebration, including rowers Valent and Martin Sinković, water
polo player Josip Pavic and gymnast Filip Ude.
During the ceremony, the "Drazen Petrovic" award for the most promising young athletes was handed out.
This award is in memory of one of the best Croatian athletes of all time.
ITALY - The "Run for Art" exhibition was officially opened on Tuesday 13 September in the Espace Colombo at the
European Parliament HQ, on the occasion of the opening of the autumn session.
The event was created and organised by the Giulio Onesti Foundation, with the patronage of the Italian National
Olympic Committee and the support of the Chair of the Culture and Education Committee of the European
Parliament, Ms Silvia Costa, who opened the exhibition, together with board member of the Foundation and project
manager Novella Calligaris.
Ms Costa said how the photos presented by the finalists of the Run for Art competition represent the positive power
of sport by capturing its essence and returning it as a gift to the public.
The leitmotif of Run for Art 2016 was “Diversity”, from one of five different angles: Ability, Age, Culture, Ethnicity and
Gender. The word “diversity” recognises, respects and values all differences, promoting an inclusive culture. The
exhibition included 40 photographs by European photographers aged under 35.
The competition involved about 200 art academies and photography schools
from about 20 countries of the European Union.
← Particular appreciation was expressed for the winning photo in the “Ethnicity” category,
taken by sports shooting world champion Petra Zublasing, with her picture "Oceanless
Beach", taken in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The European jury was chaired by Ms Silvia Costa and composed of professors
from European Academies of Art - Klaus Fruchtnis (Paris College of Art), Juliana Manara (Speos International
Photographic Institute), Eleni Moutzaki (Hellenic Centre for Photography) and Lawrence Zeegen (Ravensbourne
University), together with representatives from the European Olympic Committees, including Secretary General
Raffaele Pagnozzi and Chair of the EOC Athletes’ Commission Jean-Michel Saive.
The five talented winners of the 2016 photo competition are: Katerina Saranti (GRE) (Ability), Pauline Tran (FRA)
(Age), Theodore Panagiotopoulos (GRE) (Culture), Petra Zublasing (ITA) (Ethnicity) and Volha Misiura (ITA) (Gender).
2016 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER EOC Newsletter 3
LITHUANIA – Early in September, the opening ceremony of the 2016-2017 Lithuanian School Games and the 2015-
2016 Lithuanian School Games awards were held at the Palace of the President of Lithuania for the first time.
The event is organised by the Lithuanian NOC in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science. The President
of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite is a long-time patron of these
Games.
President Grybauskaite and the President of the Lithuanian NOC, Olympic
champion Daina Gudzineviciute, awarded 21 schools who had performed with the
most distinction at the School Games. Local municipalities managing the most
successful schools were also honoured.
The event was also attended by Lithuanian Olympians Ricardas Nekriosius, Brigita
Virbalyte-Dimsiene and Neringa Aidietyte.
The Lithuanian School Games is the largest sports event in Lithuania. 60% of
Lithuanian pupils from 80% of schools take part in it. The total number of participants is over 200,000. The programme
of the Games includes 24 winter and summer sports.
SLOVAKIA – On 24 September, the Slovak NOC celebrated the 70th birthday of Mary Mračnová, a former high jumper,
who is one of Slovakia’s greatest sporting personalities.
Mary Mračnová is a good friend of the European Olympic Committees and is actively involved in its activities. In
particular, she chaired the organising committee in charge of the 4th Winter European
Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF), held in Poprad-Tatry in 1999. She also worked on the
EOC Commission for the European Youth Olympic Days, which later became known as
the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF). The EYOF has grown to become a big
success for young aspiring athletes dreaming of taking part in the Olympic Games.
Mračnová , who was born in Kosice - a lively sports city, which is the only candidate for
the 2021 Summer EYOF - participated at the Mexico City 1968 Olympic Games and at
the Athens 1969 European Championships, where she won a bronze medal.
She is currently president of the Bratislava Olympic club and Chair of the Slovak NOC’s
Women and Sport Committee.
Following her sports career, Mračnová became a physical education and biology teacher, working in the Department
of Physical Education, Faculty of Chemical Technology at the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava. At the same
time, she continued to be actively involved in the Olympic Movement. From 1987 to 1992 she was a member of the
Executive Committee of the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee (ČSOV).
On 19 December 1992, at the inaugural meeting of the Slovak Olympic Committee, Mračnová was elected vice
president, under the presidency of Vladimir Černušák.
In 2007, she received the IOC trophy from the then IOC President Jacques Rogge for her overall engagement in sport
and the Olympic Movement.
Mračnová is married to the famous physician Joseph Mračnom, a well-known surgeon in Bratislava who has helped
many top athletes. They have two children: a son who is devoted to the medical profession and a daughter, Zuzana,
who plays basketball and was a member of the Slovakian team that won gold at the Lisbon 1997 EYOF. Last year she
played at the inaugural European Games in Baku.
The European Olympic Committees joins the Slovak Olympic Committee in warmly congratulating Mary Mračnová on
celebrating her 70th birthday.
UKRAINE – The country’s main sports arena, the “Olimpiskiy” National Sports Complex, hosted the all-Ukrainian
Olympic lesson, an annual project organised by the National Olympic Committee, Ukraine’s Ministry of Youth and
Sport, and Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science. This year’s event, supported by city and regional
administrations, Ukraine’s Sport Committee, the National Sports Committee for
the Disabled of Ukraine and the “Sport for Everybody” Centre, coincided with the
National Day of Sport and with the European Week of Sport.
For 12 years, this nationwide celebration of sport has aimed to promote Olympic
values and history and the achievements of Ukraine within the Olympic Movement,
while also encouraging an active lifestyle.
The President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Sergey Bubka took
part in a ceremony, accompanied by representatives from government,
parliament, and national and non-governmental sports bodies. They were joined
at the celebration by Ukraine's elite athletes, including medallists from Rio 2016.
The Olympic lesson involved numerous master classes, contests, relays and quizzes. The main event was the Olympic
fair, where participants could practise different sports at specially equipped courts, receive scores and then exchange
the scores for Olympic souvenirs at the Olympic market. The Olympic lesson project was launched in Kiev, but will
cover all the regions of the country, where thousands of students will get the opportunity to meet and talk with
Olympic champions and medallists, as well as other outstanding athletes and coaches to learn more about the history
of the Olympic Movement and participating in physical activities.
2016 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER EOC Newsletter 4
OLYMPIC GAMES
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Rio 2016’s greatest moments – When more than 11,000 athletes from 206 countries around the world come together
and 78 countries succeed in climbing the podium for at least one of the 306 medal ceremonies, great things will
happen. And following the Games, media around the world have listed Rio’s unforgettable moments:
The Brazilian team and their fans - The judoka Rafaela Silva, a native of Rio’s tough favela neighbourhoods, brought
Brazil its first gold of the Games and in doing so, demonstrated that perseverance and performance are not a matter
of money or privilege but of spirit. The country’s men’s beach volleyball team of Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar
Schmidt beat Italy to win gold on the iconic Copacabana Beach. The home fans produced the loudest, most passionate
welcome for the Brazilian athletes no matter what the sport or where their athletes finished. The Brazilian people
were always friendly and always smiling.
The historic firsts - Kosovo judoka Majlinda Kelmendi won Kosovo’s first ever Olympic gold medal in the country’s first
appearance at an Olympic Games. Swimmer Joseph Schooling achieved Singapore’s first ever gold medal and tennis
player Monica Puig won the first ever gold medal for Puerto Rico. Fiji’s men’s rugby team won their nation’s first ever
Olympic medal when they claimed the gold medal in rugby sevens.
The goodbyes - In the pool and on the track, the Rio 2016 Games saw two once-in-a-generation legends say
farewell. Michael Phelps swam his last competitive lap at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium and Usain Bolt took his last
sprint around an Olympic Games athletics track.
The Refugee Olympic Team - Displaced but not discouraged, the 10 refugee athletes deservedly received the most
enthusiastic cheers as they marched in during the Opening Ceremony under the
Olympic flag as the Games’ first Refugee Olympic Team. Forced to flee their
homes because of civil war or persecution, these athletes simply wanted to
compete. Yusra Mardini from Syria, who did not make it out of the heats in her
swimming event, vowed to continue training and compete again in 2020 — and
come back as a medal contender.
The sportsmanship - Distance runners Nikki Hamblin from New Zealand and
Abbey D’Agostino from the USA did not win medals in the 5000m, but both left
Rio with something far more precious – the Olympic spirit.
After colliding together in their race, the two athletes encouraged each other to
cross the finish line despite D’Agostino carrying a painful ankle injury.
The Olympic spirit also shone through for two gymnasts from North and South Korea, countries who are at war with
each other, when they took a photo together.
The siblings - Great Britain’s Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonny, claimed gold and silver in the men’s triathlon to
make it a special family and Olympic moment. Australia’s Campbell sisters were not able to make the swimming
history they were hoping to, but the fact that the sisters occupied two of the eight lanes in an Olympic final was
impressive enough.
Marriage proposals - The Rio 2016 Olympic Games were the scene of several marriage proposals. First, the photo of
the Brazilian women’s rugby player Isadora Cerullo becoming engaged on a rugby field was a hit around the world.
Then, the Chinese diver He Zi got a surprise on the podium when a wedding ring accompanied her silver medal.
Good luck to Tokyo 2020, Europe cannot wait to “Discover Tomorrow”.
PARALYMPIC GAMES 2016 - The first edition of the Paralympic Games in South America ended with a ceremony rich
in colour and musicality, in tribute to the country's rhythms and great Brazilian singers.
Carlos Nuzman, President of the Organising Committee for the Rio 2016 Olympic and
Paralympic Games, took the opportunity of the ceremony to declare his organisation’s
work as “mission accomplished”.
Nearly 4,300 athletes representing 159 nationalities competed at the Paralympic
Games. During 11 days of competition, there were 1,500 medals won, and nearly 350
new Paralympic records and 209 world records established.
The Games were a huge success with two million tickets sold, of which 80% were
purchased by Brazilians!
The Paralympic flag was passed on to the governor of Tokyo, following speeches made by the President of the
International Paralympic Committee Sir Philip Craven, Carlos Nuzman and the Mayor of Rio Eduardo Paes. The
passing of the flag acted as a symbolic relay baton to announce the next edition of the Games in Tokyo.
2016 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER EOC Newsletter 5
PYEONGCHANG 2018 – Lee Hee-beom, President of the PyeongChang Organising Committee for the 2018 Olympic
and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG), took part in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Torch
Relay as a torchbearer.
Nominees for the PyeongChang 2018 Torch Relay idea contest, “OPEN! Mission Relay”,
were announced as voting began worldwide on 5 September. You can cast a vote for the
best torch relay idea on the PyeongChang 2018 website at
http://missionrelay.pyeongchang2018.com, and win a prize.
The new Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Cho Yoonsun visited PyeongChang on 9
September to meet staff and see the venues being constructed for the Games.
On 22 September, POCOG launched the first set of coins commemorating the upcoming
Games at a special event and on 27 September, the organisers marked 500 days to the
Games.
TOKYO 2020 – Tokyo Metropolitan Governor Yuriko Koike, Tokyo 2020 Chief Executive Toshiro Muto and Japanese
Paralympic Committee Chairman Mitsunori Torihara held a joint press conference
the day before the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony.
The trio discussed how Japan will use the Paralympic Movement to benefit the city
of Tokyo.
Tokyo 2020 organisers say they will focus on Paralympic education programmes and
increasing accessibility in the city over the next four years.
CANDIDATE CITIES 2024 – All Candidate Cities were in Rio to watch and learn from the Rio 2016 Organising
Committee as part of the IOC’s Observer Programme.
Following the Games, it was announced that Rome did not have the support of the
newly elected mayor and a final decision on the bid’s future is expected on 11
October.
Part 2 of the Candidature File is to be submitted by all 2024 bid cities by 7 October.
YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES
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Record-breaking results for Youth Olympic Games athletes in Rio - A study by the IOC has shown that 80 medals
were won by Youth Olympic Games athletes at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games: 19 gold, 33 silver and 28 bronze. Two-
thirds of these came from those who competed in the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games and the remaining third
competed in the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.
Since the first edition in Singapore six years ago, the Youth Olympic
Games have given promising athletes the chance to get an early taste
of Olympic competition, standing them in good stead for the transition
to the Olympic Games.
At the London 2012 Olympic Games, 23 athletes who competed at the
Youth Olympic Games in Singapore won a total of 25 medals across 11
different sports.
Four years later at Rio 2016, with a fresh batch of Youth Olympic
Games alumni who gained valuable experience at the Nanjing 2014
Youth Olympic Games, the overall medal haul achieved by Youth Olympic Games athletes has more than tripled.
In total, Youth Olympic Games athletes won medals in 19 different sports, ranging from archery to wrestling. Besides
the 18 achieved in swimming, there were notable returns in weightlifting and taekwondo, with eight and seven
medals respectively. There were standout performances from European countries including Russia, Italy and Spain.
The IOC study concluded that the encouraging results highlight the importance of the Youth Olympic Games in the
development of talented athletes, with many using their Youth Olympic Games success as a platform to achieve even
greater things at the Olympic Games.
2016 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER EOC Newsletter 6
WORLD ANTIDOPING AGENCY
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The World Anti-Doping Agency 2015 Annual Report was published on 2 September under the title Shaping the Future
for Clean Sport.
The annual report provides a snapshot of WADA’s key activities and accomplishments from 2015 as it led the
collaborative worldwide campaign in support of clean athletes.
Among other activities and accomplishments from 2015, the report
highlights:
- The introduction of the enhanced World Anti-Doping Code and
International Standards which resulted in approximately 850 Anti-Doping
Rule Violations and more than 30 athletes sanctioned through the Athlete
Biological Passport (ABP)
- The creation of the internal Compliance Task Force and the external
independent Compliance Review Committee
- The establishment and conclusion of the USD 1.5 million Independent Commission into doping in athletics
- Five new ratifications of the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport
- The introduction of the Annual Anti-Doping Rule Violations Report as a complement to the Annual Testing Figures
Report
- 28 Scientific Research Grant proposals selected totalling a budget allocation of USD 3.5 million
- Three Social Science Research Grant proposals selected totalling a budget allocation of USD 206,326
- Four Independent Observer missions at international events
- Four Athlete Outreach programmes at multi-sport events.
EUROPEAN UNION
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#BEACTIVE - The second European Week of Sport was officially opened on 10 September by the European
Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Tibor Navracsics and other high-level representatives from
European institutions and the world of sport, as well as representatives from Košice, Slovakia, the 2016 European City
of Sport and candidate to host the 2021 Summer European Youth Olympic Festival.
Slovakia organised the European Week of Sport as part of its Presidency of the
Council of the European Union.
The European Week of Sport was launched last year to promote sport and physical
activity across Europe. The week is for everyone, regardless of age, background or
fitness level. There is a focus on grassroots initiatives and it aims to inspire
Europeans to #BeActive on a regular basis and to create opportunities for people to
exercise more.
More than 8490 events involving 28 countries took place, including a photo competition with amazing prizes. For
more information, visit http://ec.europa.eu/sport/week/photo-competition_en.
Through its European House of Sport in Brussels, the EOC is an official European partner of the European Week of
Sport. The EOC supports the idea of promoting sport and physical activity among European citizens and also views it
as an excellent opportunity to highlight the crucial role of sports clubs.
Besides the EOC, a number of European federations have become official partners of the European Week of Sport,
including European Athletics, the European Handball Federation (EHF) and UEFA. In addition, a number of NOCs are
directly involved in the delivery of the European Week of Sport within their countries, in the role of National
Coordinating Body (e.g. Czech Republic, Slovenia, France and the Netherlands) or in support of their national
ministries.
Erasmus+ project Sports 4 Everyone - Participants of the programme, which is managed by the French NOC, gathered
in Vilnius, Lithuania, for a partners meeting from 9-11 September. The aim of the
project is to encourage NOCs to get involved in the European Week of Sport and to
share best practices in promoting grassroots sports.
Representatives of Portuguese, French, Italian and FYROM NOCs, as well as the
NGO “Sport and Citizenship”, took part in the event. The President of the
Lithuanian NOC and Olympic champion Daina Gudzineviciute welcomed the
participants of the seminar.
The main goal of the event was to finalise the content of a best practices
handbook and to get acquainted with Sports for All activities in Lithuania.
2016 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER EOC Newsletter 7
IN MEMORIAM
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Vera Čáslavská, the most successful Czech Olympian of all time – passed away on the evening of 30 August following
a prolonged illness. Born on 3 May 1942, she was one of former Czechoslovakia’s most famous sportswomen and one
of the greatest gymnasts of her generation.
A seven-time Olympic champion in gymnastics, Vera Čáslavská provided the strongest challenge to the dominant
Soviet Union throughout the 1960s. In 1960 in Rome, she won a team silver
medal in combined exercises. In 1964 in Tokyo, she won three individual gold
medals for combined exercises, vault and balance beam, and a silver team
medal in combined exercises.
In 1968 in Mexico City, she won four individual gold medals for combined
exercises, vault, asymmetric bars and floor exercises, and silver team medals
for combined exercises and balance beam.
In the same year as the Mexico City Olympic Games, she signed the “Two
Thousand Words” petition against the Soviet invasion of her country. This act
earned her exile from her own country, which cut her off from the world of sport.
It wasn’t until 1989 that Vera Čáslavská found her place in sport again, when she also covered various other posts,
including that of advisor to President Vaclav Havel.
She was a member of the National and the International Gymnastics Federations, President of the Czechoslovakian
Olympic Committee from 1990 to 1993 and President of the Czech Olympic Committee from 1993 to 1996.
She was a Member of the IOC from 1995 to 2001 and, in 2002, the EOC awarded her the Order of Merit, its highest
decoration.
On 12 September, friends, family, dignitaries (including Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka), members of the
Czech and Slovak Olympic Committees and Olympic medallists paid tribute to Vera Čáslavská during a 90-minute
poignant memorial ceremony at the National Theatre in Prague.
The EOC, represented at the ceremony by Slovak NOC President and Executive Committee member Frantisek
Chmelar, extends its heartfelt condolences to her family and NOC.
EOC – COE | Villino Giulio Onesti | Via della Pallacanestro, 19 00135 Roma – Italy
Tel. +39 06 36857619 | Fax +39 06 36857666 | eoc@eurolympic.org | www.eurolympic.org
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