The German Olympic Sports Confederation will make its way to a potential Olympic bid. The delegates to the General Assembly also included a clearer commitment to respecting human rights in the statutes. Thomas Weikert remains President.
The delegates at the 19th general meeting of the DOSB spoke out unanimously in favor of the strategy process for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which, after social debates in 2023 and a public vote in 2024, is to culminate in a new attempt to bring summer or winter games to Germany .
Miriam Welte, Olympic champion in track cycling, presented the plan for an application for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the Kurhaus in Baden-Baden. “I want more goosebump moments that we can not only see on TV, but experience live”said the DOSB Vice President: “The Olympic and Paralympic Games are the biggest thing for everyone. An even bigger and rarer goal are these games in your own country.”
“Mandate to make a qualified decision”
The DOSB relies on a Forsa survey that found a two-thirds majority in the population for the Olympic Games in Germany. With the clear approval of the members, the process can begin: From next year, there will be an “Olympic application” department at the DOSB, and only in the course of the coming months will the questions Where? and when? be clarified. The focus should be on sustainability and added value for society.
Before the vote in the Kurhaus, DOSB CEO Torsten Burmester had pointed out that it was not a vote on yes or no to an application to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). “They give us the mandate to make a qualified decision about it”said Burmester, this should be voted on at the next general meeting at the end of 2023.
Respect for human rights anchored in the statute
Delegates also included a clearer commitment to respect human rights in the statutes. The preamble to the statute now states: The DOSB “is committed to respecting all nationally and internationally recognized human rights and is committed to respecting them in the performance of his duties”. The DOSB is thus following the example of other sports organizations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which adopted a strategic framework for human rights in its charter in September. “The controversial discussions about the football World Cup in Qatar clearly show how much action and attitude there is.”said DOSB President Thomas Weikert and admitted: “It may be that the association came into action a little late.”
Weikert confirmed as President
Weikert was then confirmed by the DOSB general meeting for another four years in the office of president. The 61-year-old received 434 of the 438 votes from the delegates in Baden-Baden. Last year, Weikert followed Alfons Hörmann, who no longer competed after serious allegations in an anonymous letter (“Culture of Fear”). Weikert was the only candidate for the highest honorary post in organized German sport. The lawyer from Limburg was President of the World Table Tennis Association ITTF until November 2021, before that he had led the German Table Tennis Association (DTTB).
Has been re-elected as President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation: Thomas Weikert.