He would have been fine without it. And certainly didn’t look for it. But Juan Antonio Samaranch (photo above), one of the seven candidates for the IOC presidency, and certainly one of the best placed, sparked the first controversy of the campaign.
Present last week in Budapest for the launch of the European Sports Week, the Spaniard took to the podium to call on elected officials to invest massively in sporting activities and practice. “ Let’s keep it simple: sport saves lives – and money”he suggested in the Hungarian capital.
So far, nothing very confrontational. But, on the sidelines of his speech, Juan Antonio Samaranch answered questions from theAFP. And, more perilously, he mentioned the Russian question.
« As soon as possible, we would like to re-examine the reinstatement of the Russian Olympic Committee, he explained. But today, it still finds itself in flagrant violation of the Olympic charter. As soon as the reasons for the suspension disappear, we have an obligation to start working very hard to bring him back. » The Catalan also recalled that Russia was not excluded because of the invasion of Ukraine, but for violating the Olympic Truce.
In Ukraine, the comments of the IOC vice-president provoked the fury of the political authorities. Not very surprising. The Ukrainian Ministers of Sports, Matviï Bidny, and Foreign Affairs, Andriï Sybiga, published a joint statement on Tuesday October 1 to denounce the position of Juan Antonio Samaranch. « Such statements demonstrate either son lack of awareness regarding Russia’s aggression, or its desire to justify the aggressorthey wrote. Russia has not stopped its aggression or its atrocities. It continues its brutal war against Ukraine. »
In their press release, the two Ukrainian ministers insist: “ Suggestions of a possible return of Russian athletes to the international sports community are categorically unacceptable and scandalous. »
The campaign for the succession of Thomas Bach at the head of the IOC has only just begun. The seven applicants have not yet sent their application document, intended in particular to be published in the space dedicated to the election on the official IOC website. Anything can still happen, for Juan Antonio Samaranch as for his rivals.
But unless he quickly and energetically backpedals, the Spaniard seems to have already lost the votes of the Ukrainian members of the IOC. There are two of them, both Olympic champions in athletics: Valeriy Borzov and Sergey Bubka.
Russia, on the other hand, has never hidden its preference for the Catalan. When the list of candidates was announced, former biathlete Alexander Tikhonov, four-time Olympic relay gold medalist for the USSR, told the agency TASS that Sebastian Coe’s candidacy was ” the worst.” And that of Juan Antonio Samaranch the best.
