Photo: IOC.

Havana, December 30 (RHC)-- The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, expressed the hope that in 2023 he will be able to live up to the mission of sport to unite the world through peaceful competition.

This was expressed during his end-of-year textual and audiovisual message, where he addressed two key issues: the success of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and the crisis generated by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

On the latter, Bach reviewed the most recent events and debates, ratified the sanctions on Russia and Belarus, but not on their national Olympic committees; and highlighted the positions that should lead to the return of athletes from those countries to international competitions.

"In this spirit we can look forward to 2023 with hope and optimism. All the support from all walks of life for our mission of peace shows that the power of sport as a force for good in the world is widely recognized, and is needed more than ever. Especially at a time when division and conflict are gaining ground over dialogue and cooperation, at a time when, tragically, it is not people but the weapons of war that do the talking," said Bach.

The German federator reminded that the year 2023 will be pre-Olympic and therefore the athletes will concentrate on getting tickets for the Paris 2024 event.

He celebrated the magnificent preparation for those games and also that the I Olympic Esports Week will be held in mid-2023.

"This positive momentum is something we can carry into the new year. Our values, our solidarity, our unity, our mission of peace: all this makes our beloved Olympic movement so unique. This is the solid foundation on which we can build our future, on which we can build a better and more peaceful world through sport," he finally noted.