(Beijing) Listening to Thomas Bach torpedo the entourage of the young skater Kamila Valieva, I said to myself: nothing beats a good old Russian controversy to calm the Chinese front.
Updated at 0:36
It must be said that the president of the International Olympic Committee, who delivered his moods during the traditional final press conference of the Games, made very limited use of the bazooka in his comments. But as the Russians officially have a (small) dunce cap, you can open fire at will.
Bach began by praising the “great success” of the Games. Then he told some inspiring stories – like these Russian and Ukrainian athletes hand in hand, or this exchange of “pins” between Chinese and Americans in curling.
But he changed his tone by speaking of the “sad story of Kamilia Valieva”.
“Very disturbed” by the spectacle of this 15-year-old girl who collapses under the pressure, and whose “every movement of the body” revealed the immense “mental stress”.
He was even more so by what happened next. The “icy” welcome from those around her who, instead of supporting her, received her without the slightest comfort.
Next came silver medalist Alexandra Trusova, who denounced her rank, saying that everyone has gold but her, and that she “hates this sport”.
What happened there does not “give me much confidence in this entourage, neither in view of what happened, nor for the future, and I hope that she (Valieva) will have the support of her friends and his family. »
In this pathetic case, many blamed the IOC, saying that the doped young athlete should never have taken part in the competition. But the IOC had no choice but to comply with the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which authorized it. The IOC itself argued against its participation, but lost.
The real problem is the system of sanctions imposed on the Russians after the most incredible state doping scandal ever revealed, in Sochi.
After a national exclusion that allowed them to compete individually, Russian athletes now have an intermediate status: they are members of the “Russian Olympic Committee”; still no flag of the country, no national anthem in the event of a gold medal – but a concerto by Tchaikovsky, and not the simple Olympic anthem.
As the Russian laboratory is no longer trusted, the samples are analyzed in Stockholm. And by playing with the deadlines, we managed to delay the announcement of the discovery of “trimetazidine” in Valieva’s blood.
As Bach said yesterday: it is never an athlete alone who takes dope. This is even more true in the case of a 15-year-old girl. He therefore announces a new investigation by the World Anti-Doping Agency into the “entourage” of the young Russian skating star.
As much as his words were well felt and his determination sincere, Mr. Bach is faced with the consequences of the softness of the sanctions against Russia and the proof of their non-repentance.
Clearly, it’s not working. We are not talking about an obscure athlete; we are talking about the big star of the most publicized sport of the Winter Games. This Russian “entourage”, in the post-Sochi context, we must still assume that it is the state system of doping. And if the controls worked late, it’s because the IOC’s oversight of these super-delinquents is not good.
At the Games, of course, the IOC was obliged to comply with the judges’ decision, even if it disagreed, even if it humiliated it.
In particular, as Bach said: whatever the age of a participant, a proof of doping should exclude you from a competition. That said, we also have to think about the notion of a minimum age for participants, he admitted.
But everything was in place to allow this humiliation.
What a contrast all the same between this strong and unequivocal denunciation, and the “silent diplomacy” of the IOC in the Peng Shuai affair.
Never Thomas Bach expressed his concern publicly, asked for an investigation into the allegations of sexual assault, censorship or kidnapping of the athlete.
He had conversations with Peng controlled and supervised by Chinese officials; he rubbed shoulders with her officially to show the world that she is well, is autonomous and does not require any investigation. All this to the delight of the Chinese dictatorship.
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The day before, at the same rostrum of the press center in Beijing, the journalists had witnessed an absolutely extraordinary scene. Chinese Olympic Committee spokesperson Yan Jiarong gave the daily joint press briefing with the IOC spokesperson. A routine procedure on the issues of the day.
Probably tired of being asked questions about Taiwan and the repression of the Uyhours by the international press, Ms. Jiarong took advantage of this last session to counterattack.
The journalists’ questions were based on “lies”, just go to the right sources – she didn’t cite any facts, just a classic blanket denial.
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, present at the opening ceremony, had nevertheless asked for an independent commission to be sent to visit the forced labor and re-education camps for Muslims in Xinjiang. The repression is documented (I mentioned the case put together by the “tribunal” on the Uyghur genocide).
Jiarong then repeated the policy that there is “only one China in the world”, to a question about mandatory attendance at Taiwan’s closing ceremony which is called “China Taipei” here. She quoted President Xi Jinping in a “solemn statement”.
Aggressively political language used with the Olympic rings in the background, which is supposed to be strictly prohibited.
Isn’t this a clear violation of the famous “Rule 50” against the politicization of the Games?
“We have been in contact with the organizing committee and they have reiterated their commitment to remain neutral,” simply replied the president.
Mr. Bach, as everyone knows, is a past master in the art of playing political variations.