During the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024, Xinhua News Agency had an interview with IOC President Thomas Bach. In the interview, the 70-year-old head of the IOC commented on the ice and snow frenzy in China and the outstanding performance of Chinese youth athletes at Gangwon 2024 and envisioned the future of the Winter Youth Olympics.

On China’s ice and snow frenzy: valuable assets of the Beijing 2022 Games

In the wake of the Beijing 2022 Games, China has seen a boom in winter sports. Especially this winter, interest in winter sports has been soaring throughout the country.

Bach spoke highly of China’s fulfilment of its promise to engage 300 million people in winter sports, noting the valuable assets created by the Beijing 2022 Games. “People can see the values of the sport of being reflected in an excellent way in China. There are growing contributions of sport in general, in particular of the winter sports industry to the GDP in China. This great engagement of so many Chinese people in winter sports also contributes to a healthy society,” said the IOC chief.

After the Beijing 2022 Games, Bach on multiple occasions expressed a welcome to China joining the club of winter sports and starting a new era for winter sports worldwide. That was echoed at Gangwon 2024. As of 29 January, Chinese youth athletes aged 14 to 18 had grabbed 5 golds, 8 silvers and 3 bronzes, tying for second on the leaderboard for total medals.

“You can see how the winter sports development programs before Beijing 2022 are paying off,” said Bach. “In Beijing 2022, participants of the previous Winter Youth Olympic Games won 53 medals. This shows the Youth Games are becoming a more and more important stepping stone for great success on the Olympic level.” He said that the Chinese Olympic Committee and Chinese people could see China’s leadership on Gangwon 2024 medal standings as a sign of greater success at future Winter Olympics.

2024 will see a series of Olympic events. In addition to the Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon at the beginning of the year, the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics will open in July. In May, Shanghai will host the inaugural Olympic Qualifier Series, a new series of festival-style events combining sport with urban culture, along with Budapest. It is an important qualifier session for BMX freestyle, breaking, skateboarding and sport climbing events for Paris 2024.

Bach said Shanghai was chosen because of China’s “outstanding successes” in hosting past Olympic events.

The IOC chief also mentioned the possibility of China bidding for Olympic events. He stated that it is up to China’s decision, but the IOC is open to all proposals and willing to give advice.

On Winter Youth Olympics: stressing the positioning of the Youth Olympic Games

From Singapore 2010 to Gangwon 2024, three editions of the Summer Youth Olympic Games and four editions of the Winter Youth Olympic Games have been staged, demonstrating unique charm and values. Given that the Youth Olympic Games can’t compete with the Olympic Games when it comes to influence and commercial value, where will be the Youth Olympic Games headed? And how can it be incorporated in the overall reform of the Olympic Movement?

On this note, Bach admitted that the IOC wouldn’t expect the Youth Olympic Games to get the same attention as the Olympic Games. Still, he stressed that this year’s Winter Youth Olympic Games sees a 60 percentage surge in reach on the IOC’s digital platform compared to the previous edition, which is remarkable progress.

The Olympic Agenda 2020 highlights the positioning of the Youth Olympic Games: high-level athletic performance, a sporting event blending education and culture, and an incubator for innovation in Games organising and event settings. Bach elaborated on such positioning during the interview.

The function of education counted heavily in the idea behind the Youth Olympic Games, but over time, the competition side has become increasingly prominent. This was acknowledged by Bach – “Putting a greater focus on the competition side was one of the goals the Olympic Agenda has been setting, because we could learn from the concertation with the International Federations and with the youth athletes that they are looking for this kind of competition.... This greatly facilitates their future participation in the Olympic Games.”

A defining feature of the Youth Olympic Games is the blending of sport with education and culture. As noted by the IOC president, youth athletes at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon cherish every aspect of competition, learning, and interaction. In the Youth Olympic Village, athletes from different countries and regions make frequent trips to the cultural and educational programme area, getting to know the Olympic history and values, learning how to promote fair play and clean sport and making friends with other athletes. All these will prepare them for future Olympic Games and contribute to their all-round development throughout their career.

Innovation has been programmed into the Youth Olympic Games from the very beginning, notably in event settings. Many events and rules are tested on this platform. For example, several new sports such as ski mountaineering, 3x3 basketball, sport climbing, and skateboarding were introduced to the Olympic Games after tests at previous Youth Olympics.

“We saw some new disciplines which had not been tested, and we will evalsuate after the Games,” said the president.

After being tested at the Summer Youth Olympic Games Nanjing 2014 and other editions, Wushu, also known as martial arts, has been included as a medal sport in the upcoming 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games. “It is highly valued by Senegal, the host country of the Youth Olympic Games 2026, and there is considerable excitement surrounding it,” stated Bach. “The Olympic debut of wushu in two years is highly anticipated. After this analysis, we will be in a position to make a decision regarding wushu’s inclusion in the Olympic programme in the future,” he added.

On AI and esports: an open and prudent mind

Bach has mentioned the impact of AI several times since last year. During the interview, the IOC chief stressed the need to fully analyze AI related opportunities and risks and apply the technology to our advantage.

“AI will play a major, and very important role, not only in sports and the Olympic Games, but in all our lives,” Bach said. According to him, with the assistance of AI, the best training methods, medical care and mental health treatments can be guaranteed for athletes, and NOCs in underserved countries and regions can give their athletes access to training equivalent to that of more developed countries and regions. Bach forecasted that AI would help better disseminate the Olympic values and improve the judging and refereeing systems. An accurate research report is expected to come out in the near future to examine how sport can benefit from AI. Meanwhile, he warned against the potential risks of AI.

Bach also noted the development of esports. During the 141st IOC session in October last year, the IOC announced a plan to create the Olympic Esports Games.

Bach stated that the way how the first edition of the Olympic Esports Games would be organised is not fully set yet, which may take the form of the Olympic Esports Week last year. Still, he revealed that an Olympic Esports Games may be unveiled in 2025, or, at the latest, in 2026. Bach said there would be, on the one hand, virtual sports that blend esports with physical activity, while on the other, some of the most popular video games that are compliant with Olympic values.