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Months before the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics kick off, former Olympian Thomas Bach will be re-appointed unopposed for a second term as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) this week.
Bach, 67, was elected for an eight-year term as IOC president back in September 2013, when he replaced Jacques Rogge of Belgium.
In the past eight years, Bach led the Olympic Committee through a series of crises, the contentious 2014 Sochi Olympics, the Russian doping scandal, and the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, to name a few.
Also read: Seiko Hashimoto hopes Tokyo Olympics will speed up Covid-19 testing frequency
Tokyo Olympics - Biggest leadership challenge for Bach
The coronavirus pandemic was perhaps the biggest test of Bach's leadership. He helped put Japan on track for success against the coronavirus. As the world scrambled to get to grips with the virus outbreak, the IOC postponed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for a year.
A gold medallist in fencing (men's foil team) at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Bach was a founding member of the IOC's Athletes' Commission and has been an IOC member since 1991.
After rising debate over the viability of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Bach has frequently remarked that the organizers were fully focussed on the challenge of staging the event during the pandemic despite persistent safety concerns.
Committed to holding a 'safe and secure' Olympics, the Games are set to be held without foreign spectators this year.
Also Read: Tokyo Olympics to be held without foreign spectators: Reports
Last month, the IOC and the organizers announced a rule-book that underlined stringent rules in place for the participants in a bid to hold the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in the safest possible manner.
The 137th IOC session will be held at Lausanne headquarters in Switzerland through a video conference from March 10 to 12. The session will address the activities of the administration and reports from the Organizing Committees for the forthcoming Olympics.
One of the key issues will be 'Agenda 2020', which promises to simplify the voting process for bidding candidate cities in order to cut costs.
Paris has been officially awarded the 2024 Olympics while Los Angeles is set to play host to the 2028 Summer Olympics. Last month, the IOC offered its preference to Brisbane to hold the 2032 Summer Olympics.
