China 'embracing' Olympic spirit

Exclusive | Thomas Bach

If memories were awarded medals, Thomas Bach would give China a gold medal every time.

Bach, vice-president of the International Olympic Committee and 1976 Olympic fencing gold medalist, finished his career in Shanghai in 1980. He was in China at the time, rather than defending his medal, because of a boycott, by some countries, of the Moscow Olympics.

Thomas Bach, vice-president of the International Olympic Committee

"Our Olympic committee (West Germany) voted for a boycott. I was representing the athletes and wanted to take part in the Games. We lost the battle. Now everyone realizes that it was absolutely useless. It did not make one bit of difference at all," Bach, 58, said.

As "a kind of compensation", Bach said the national team had a two-week tour to China and took part in competitions against fencers in Beijing, Hangzhou, Kunming and Shanghai.

"I'm happy to report that I won the last match." It happened to be the last of his career.

Sitting in a Park Lane cafe 32 years later, Bach recalled Olympic stories and shared his thoughts on the London Games.

He played down "speculation" that he is the front-runner to succeed current IOC President Jacques Rogge in 2013.

"It is an honor, on the one hand, if people feel that you may be capable. But on the other hand, it is way too early. I am very loyal to our president and I think it would not be fair to him, nor would it be fair to the IOC, to start discussing his succession now," Bach said.

The current Games, he said, are "the toughest".

"You see new nations and athletes from smaller nations emerging and winning medals. This is great for the globalization of sport," he said.

Bach also said it's impressive to see China is "not concentrating only on the traditionally strong sports ... like gymnastics, table tennis and badminton".

He singled out Xu Lijia, who won the women's Laser Radial class in sailing, as an example of China "embracing" more Olympic sports, and offered his support to "young rookie" swimmer, Ye Shiwen.

Ye, 16, won two golds in London and slashed 5 seconds off her personal best.

John Leonard, the executive director of the American Swimming Coaches Association, called the performance "disturbing". Ye denied that she had used performance-enhancing drugs and has never failed a test.

"She is a great star, one of the great talents. This is what sport needs. She's a great champion," Bach said.

As a retired Olympian himself, Bach stressed repeatedly that he could "feel for athletes", especially those caught up in controversy.

He acknowledged that there had been discussion in Germany over boycotting the Beijing Games.

"Having suffered from a boycott in 1980, I was with the athletes in this discussion. I made it clear from the beginning that our committee will not accept any boycott. We will go to Beijing, no matter what," he recalled.

Making his stance public at an early stage ended any future mention of a boycott, and Bach said it was a "great moment" to see the German team in Beijing.

"You cannot say sport has nothing to do with politics ... You have to know your political implications. You have to know there can be a political background. But sport has to be absolutely neutral in politics. If sport takes a side in politics, then the meaning of sport is gone," he said.

One great example of the power of sport to transcend politics came in 2000 when athletes from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea marched together for the first time at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics.

Bach played an important role in the IOC-brokered arrangement.

In 1998, the IOC had an executive meeting in the ROK.

Juan Antonio Samaranch, then IOC president, introduced Bach to politicians, saying he would be going to the DPRK for discussions.

Bach visited Pyongyang soon afterward, and found the discussions "very difficult" in the beginning, as there was "no real commitment".

The countries held direct talks about "a couple of months" later.

But Bach modestly denied any major role, saying he was just "preparing the ground" for direct talks.

"We did not really believe it would happen until we saw the teams come in together," he said. An incredible scene, "one of the most moving moments" he ever experienced.

Contact the writer at zhanghaizhou@chinadaily.com.cn