The 125th IOC Session took place at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 7 to 10 September 2013.[1] On 7 September, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Tokyo as the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Wrestling was restored to the Olympic sports program for 2020 and 2024. Thomas Bach was elected to an eight-year term as IOC President on 10 September.
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Session host city selection
editThe IOC received bids from two cities to host the 125th Session: the Argentine capital Buenos Aires and the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur made bids. Buenos Aires was elected at the 122nd IOC Session in Vancouver which took place prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics.[2]
2020 Olympic host city election
editThe members of the IOC elected the host city of the 2020 Olympic Games on 7 September 2013. The candidates were Tokyo, Istanbul, and Madrid. Prior to the vote, the contest was considered to be close between the three cities. Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Summer Olympics. The results of the exhaustive ballot were as follows:
| Election of the Host City of the 2020 Summer Olympics — ballot results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Country | Round | ||
| 1 | Runoff | 2 | ||
| Tokyo |  Japan (JPN)
|
42 (44.68%) | — | 60 (62.50%) |
| Istanbul |  Turkey (TUR)
|
26 (27.66%) | 49 (52.13%) | 36 (37.50%) |
| Madrid |  Spain (ESP)
|
26 (27.66%) | 45 (47.87%) | — |
| 125th IOC Session | Vote details | Round | ||
| 1 | Runoff | 2 | ||
 |
Eligible | 94 | 94 | 96 |
| Participants | ||||
| Abstentions | ||||
| Valid ballots | ||||
| Members unable to vote | ||||
| Members from countries with candidate cities | Other members | |||
 Tsunekazu Takeda Juan Antonio Samaranch, Marisol Casado, José Perurena Uğur Erdener
|
 Jacques Rogge (IOC president) (Under IOC rules the President is permitted to vote, but President Rogge elected not to participate in the vote at the 125th Session)
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Following Madrid's elimination after a tie-breaking vote with Istanbul, the three Spanish IOC members were eligible to take part in the final round of voting.
Reaction
editThe announcement was met with jubilation from the Tokyo delegation and across Japan.[3] Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe, who had given a personal address during the presentation stage, said "I would like to thank everyone in the Olympic movement and we will host a wonderful Olympic Games." Japanese fencer Yuki Ota alluded to the 2011 earthquake in a statement to reporters, "After the earthquake everyone in Japan was depressed but now we have to make a dream come true."
Abe's role in the final stages of the bid, including his reassurances to the IOC that Fukushima radiation would not affect Tokyo, was considered to be a major asset. Tokyo's bid had also received support from Princess Hisako and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah.[4] Madrid's bid was considered to have been hampered by Spain's weak economy and Istanbul's was considered to have been damaged by recent internal political instability and doping scandals, as well as match fixing in 2011.[4][5]
IOC presidential election
editOn 10 September 2013, Thomas Bach of Germany was elected to succeed Jacques Rogge as IOC President, winning in two rounds of voting, over five other candidates. The results of the vote were as follows:
| Election of the 9th IOC President[6][7] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Round 1 | Runoff | Round 2 | ||
 Thomas Bach
|
43 | — | 49 | ||
 Richard Carrión
|
23 | — | 29 | ||
 Ng Ser Miang
|
6 | 56 | 6 | ||
 Denis Oswald
|
7 | — | 5 | ||
 Sergey Bubka
|
8 | — | 4 | ||
 Wu Ching-kuo
|
6 | 36 | — | ||
Election of new IOC members
editNine individuals were elected IOC members at the 125th IOC Session on 10 September:
Olympic gold order
editKing Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands was awarded this highest IOC honor on Sunday 8 September after he relinquished his membership to focus on matters at home.[8]
Potential new sports
editThe IOC considered wrestling, squash and baseball/softball to the program for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[9] Wrestling had been part of the Ancient Olympic Games and every Modern Olympic Games with the exception of the 1900 Paris Games, however in February 2013 it was dropped from the 2020 Olympic Program. Wrestling successfully campaigned at the 125th Session to be re-included in the 2020 program. The results of the vote on 8 September 2013 were:
| Election of the new sport for 2020[10] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Round 1 | ||||
| Wrestling | 49 | ||||
| Baseball/softball | 24 | ||||
| Squash | 22 | ||||
Baseball/softball
editBaseball was first included as a demonstration sport at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis. It was again played as a demonstration sport at the Summer Olympics in 1912, 1936, 1956, 1964, 1984, and 1988. It was first included as an official medal sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Baseball then featured at every Summer Olympic Games until the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where it made its last Olympic appearance.
Softball was included at the Summer Olympics in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008.
The governing bodies for baseball (International Baseball Federation) and softball (International Softball Federation) merged in 2013 to form the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The two sports each had a separate bid for joining the Olympic program.[11] Although Baseball and Softball were not successful in being included in the 2020 Olympic core program, in 2016 the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee and the WBSC successfully campaigned to have the two sports included in the 2020 Games as a one sport, two discipline event for a one-off appearance.
Squash
editSquash is played in more than 185 countries and by millions of people worldwide.[12] It has been played at various international sporting events, including the Pan American Games since 1995, and the All-Africa Games since 2003. Squash has also been played at both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games since 1998.
The sport is governed by the World Squash Federation.
Wrestling
editWrestling is practiced all around the world, officially in 177 countries, some of which participate in the Olympic Games in this sport alone. It was first introduced in the ancient Olympic Games in 708 BC and was included in all the ancient Olympics from that date. Wrestling has featured at the modern Summer Games since the 1896 Olympics in Athens, and it has been a part of all modern Olympics except those in Paris in 1900. It was still included in the Olympic program at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Wrestling was initially dropped from the 2020 Olympic program; however, it was given the opportunity to be reselected for the 2020 and 2024 Games.[13]
The sport is governed by United World Wrestling.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Visita de la Comisión Evaluadora del COI a Buenos Aires" [Visit of the IOC Evaluation Commission to Buenos Aires]. coarg.org.ar. Argentine Olympic Committee. 2009. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Olympics 2020: Tokyo wins race to host Games". BBC Sport. 7 September 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ a b Bond, David (8 September 2013). "Olympics 2020: Why Tokyo is a 'safe pair of hands' to host Games". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 9 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ Gibson, Owen (7 September 2013). "Tokyo wins race to host 2020 Olympic Games". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ "Thomas Bach elected new IOC President". Olympic.org. IOC. 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- ^ Shine, Ossian (10 September 2013). "IOC elect Bach new president – the voting figures". Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- ^ "Dutch King given Olympic gold order". espn.co.uk. Associated Press. 8 September 2013. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- ^ "Baseball/softball, squash and wrestling make cut for IOC Session vote in Buenos Aires". Olympic.org. IOC. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013.
- ^ "Wrestling added to Olympic programme for 2020 and 2024 Games". Olympic.org. IOC. 8 September 2013. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ^ "New World Baseball Softball Body born at historic Tokyo Congress". ibaf.org. International Baseball Federation. 14 April 2013. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013.
- ^ "World Squash Federation Welcomes International Olympic Committee Sport Shortlist Decision for 2020 Games". Squash2020.com. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013.
- ^ "Wrestling to be dropped from 2020 Olympic Games". BBC Sport. 12 February 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2013.