The European Olympic Committees gathered in Slovakia to analyse the current state of play of continental sport. The 41st EOC Seminar kicked off yesterday in Samorin, the purpose of which is to assess the situation following the end of the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and analyse future events, particularly in view of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
The meeting, the first of the new Chairman, was opened with speeches from the new President, Spyros Capralos; the Secretary General of the Slovak Olympic Committee, Josef Liba; and the State Secretary for Sport of the Slovak Republic, Ivan Husar.
CONI is represented by Secretary General Carlo Mornati (pictured in the photo enjoying a pleasant meeting with his colleague, and former rower, Djordje Visacki, now Secretary General of the Serbian NOC). Delegates from 44 of the 50 European National Olympic Committees were present. Updates on the format of the seminar were presented by EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi: thanks to a dedicated App, all questions were asked electronically.
Deputy Director of Olympic Solidarity, Pamela Vipond, started the presentations by giving an overview of the support provided to the world's National Olympic Committees (NOCs) for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In total, 310 European athletes received scholarships, with 70 of them winning medals at Tokyo 2020 and 101 of them obtaining diplomas.
The day was divided into two main themes: ‘After Tokyo 2020' and ‘The Best Path to the Future'. The Secretary General of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), Gunilla Lindberg, and Head of NOC Games Services and NOC Relations, Toshio Tsurunaga, started proceedings with a detailed account of Tokyo 2020, with a special focus on the measures taken to overcome the critical issues related to COVID-19.
The focus then shifted to the extraordinary performances of European athletes at Tokyo 2020. Peter Brüll, EOC Sports Director, gave a general overview, noting that athletes from 40 of the 50 European NOCs won medals, accounting for almost half (48.43%) of the total.
The topic was discussed in depth with speeches from Antonio La Torre, Technical Director of the Italian Athletics Federation (FIDAL), among others.
After an IOC update on the preparations for Beijing 2022, the seminar analysed future scenarios including in terms of preventing the disruption of sporting competitions, the 2030 EOC strategic agenda and EU projects to support the National Olympic Committees.