IOC President arrives today

President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach will arrive in Jamaica today for his first visit to the island.

The world governing Olympic body’s head will undertake a hectic schedule, and President of the Jamaica Olympic Association, (JOA), Christopher Samuda, expects a very successful visit.

“President Bach’s engagement will serve to deepen and embolden our continuing commitment to the values of Olympism as a way of life in sport while providing a welcome opportunity for an interface with members of the local Olympic family,” Samuda said ahead of Bach’s visit.

In July 2018, a petal from the flame of the cauldron of the 2012 London Olympic Games was established at the Sir Donald Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay by the current JOA administration “as a landmark embodying the ideals of a global sport movement, giving earnest hope to the burning aspirations of Jamaica’s sportsmen and women in their pursuit of excellence and kindling the ambitious light of our youth to emulate” JOA Secretary General and CEO, Ryan Foster, said.

At the heart of President Bach’s visit will undoubtedly be fraternal unity as the top brass of the JOA and the IOC executives meet on common ground in advancing the Olympic agenda.

“A meeting of the minds in sport, a mutuality of purpose and will, and commonality of values will characterise discussions and anchor outcomes” President Samuda stated.

President Bach, a Montreal 1976 Olympic Games gold medallist in fencing and a lawyer by profession, will depart the island with his delegation on March 5 on the way to the Dominican Republic after “what we have every confidence will be a milestone in Jamaica’s Olympic experience” Secretary General Foster commented.