More than 1,600 athletes from 185 National Olympic committees (NOC) and refugee athletes benefiting from the Olympic solidarity programs related to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020; will continue to enjoy this support up to the games of the xxxii Olympiad, which will now be celebrated from 23 July to 8 august 2021.
TOKYO 2020
The IOC Athletes’ Commission informed the athletes of this via Athlete365. It also reminded athlete representatives in a global conference call, that programs had recently been launched to empower NOC athletes’ commissions to conduct their annual activities. The athlete representatives were encouraged to use this as much as possible. Specifically, the programs that will be extended until the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 are: “Olympic Scholarships for Athletes Tokyo 2020”, “Team Support Grants”, “Refugee Athlete Support” and “Olympic Games Subsidies.”
“This is great news for the athletes around the world. It will ensure that the principles of solidarity and universality will be fully respected, and will not be affected by the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” said Kirsty Coventry, Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission. “Athletes are at the heart of the Olympic Games and will never be left behind, even under these exceptional circumstances that we are currently in.”
Olympic Solidarity was created more than 50 years ago, aimed at assisting all the NOCs, particularly those with the greatest need, through multi-faceted programs prioritizing athlete development, training for coaches and sports administrators, and promoting the Olympic values.
World Programs, Continental Programs and IOC Subsidies for Participation in Olympic Games cover the objectives of the NOCs, which are mainly to improve their functioning and organizational ability; create or develop efficient structures; organize training courses at various levels; and profit from the technical and financial resources available, which in turn will benefit their athletes.
NOCs are offered a flexible approach to the use of funding, in order better to meet their individual needs, recognizing the diversity of the Olympic Movement.
Through its Refugee Athlete Support programs, Olympic Solidarity is currently helping 48 refugee athlete scholarship-holders aiming to be selected as part of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020.
In the framework of the 2013-2016 quadrennial plan, 12,000 NOC activities were supported worldwide by Olympic Solidarity including 2,000 scholarships for athletes, 1,500 training courses for coaches and sports administrators and 750 initiatives to promote Olympic values. At the Olympic Games Rio 2016, 101 medals were awarded to Olympic scholarship-holders (33 gold, 26 silver and 42 bronze medals).
(IOC News)
