The Olympic Federation of Ireland supports the IOC in addressing the governance issues at AIBA following a number concerning developments that need to be dealt with for the long-term good of the sport.
Boxing has a long tradition in Irish Olympic sport and we are particularly conscious as to how this impacts our athletes who are training day-in, day-out in preparation for Tokyo.
We requested updates on the matter at the recent European Olympic Committee congress and again two days ago at the ANOC Congress in Tokyo, where our President Sarah Keane was the only delegate from over 200 National Olympic Committees to ask a question from the floor in relation to boxing.
Throughout this process, the IOC has stated both in public and in private, that they intend to protect the athletes. This is clear again in today’s statement where they clarify that regardless of the measures being taken, they will make all efforts to ensure that a boxing tournament can take place in Tokyo. It is important at this point, while matters are on-going at international level between the IOC and AIBA, that the emphasis remains on what the IOC has said about protecting the athletes. We welcome their commitments in this regard.
