“No” said IOC President Thomas Bach when asked by the French sports daily L’Equipe whether Friday’s terrorist assaults that killed 129 people in Paris would influence the September 2017 IOC Session’s vote on the host of the 2024 Olympic Games. “The IOC members have a lot of experience. They know that nobody knows how the world will be in nine years and they know that terrorism is not French or a Parisian problem, that it is a global challenge. It does not only concern sports but all the big events and the whole society. You cannot concede victory to the terrorists. We must be united and firm, especially with the Olympic Games.” Dr. Bach also said he believes that the atrocity that struck Paris will not hurt the French capital’s chances of hosting the 2024 Games.
This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.