Building on the news which broke yesterday concerning the possible bribery scandal surrounding the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games bid, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo 2020 organizers have each released statements today, January 15th.
As a refresher on the issue brought to light yesterday, a report produced by the independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) focusing on the alleged corruption within the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) happened to include an alarming footnote concerning the 2020 Olympic bidding decision.
The report points to Turkey having lost IAAF President Lamine Diack’s 2020 Olympic bid support as organizers did not pay sponsorship moneys to the turn of $4 to 5 million to either the Diamond League or IAAF. The report does insinuate, however, that Japan indeed paid the sum, resulting in the city of Tokyo winning the 2020 bid.
Essentially, the WADA investigation has revealed that at least $4 million of sponsorship money may have been a factor in swaying Diack’s vote in the form of his dropping support for Istanbul and instead supporting Tokyo after the cash was paid.
Today, the IOC has reportedly asked WADA for its report transcripts, saying to the press, “We have already asked the Independent Commission for the transcript so that we can better understand the context and the claims being made.”
Hikariko Ono, a spokeswoman for the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, said in a statement, “The games were awarded to Tokyo because the city presented the best bid. Tokyo’s bid was about Japan’s commitment to address issues around the integrity of sport.”
Also releasing a statement today was Ugur Erdener, head of the Turkish Olympic Committee. According to Erdener, the city of Istanbul did not lose out due to Diack’s reported demand for sponsorship money.
“Lamine Diack was the head of the IAAF at the time and may have been expecting sponsorship for his federation,” said Erdener, who also serves on the IOC executive board. “He may have used his individual vote in favor of another city that met his expectations.”
“Lamine Diack does not have the authority to grant the Olympic Games to any city, and in the end, he only used his vote,” Erdener said. “Therefore, it would not be a correct approach to explain the fact that Istanbul did not win the right to organize the 2020 Olympic Games through Lamine Diack’s vote alone.” (ESPN)