You can't choose who congratulates you, IOC says after Putin's best wishes for president-elect Coventry

Record ID: 1984983

  • Title: You can't choose who congratulates you, IOC says after Putin's best wishes for president-elect Coventry
  • Date: 21st March 2025
  • Summary: PYLOS, GREECE (MARCH 21, 2025) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) OUTGOING IOC PRESIDENT THOMAS BACH, ON SUCCESSOR KIRSTY COVENTRY BEING CONGRATULATED BY RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING: “Congratulations, you cannot choose who is congratulating you when, and that's it.” WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) OUTGOING IOC PRESIDENT THOMAS BACH, SAYING: “With regard to the
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: IOC International Olympic Committee Kirsty Coventry Olympics Russia Thomas Bach Vladimir Putin
  • Location: PYLOS, GREECE
  • City: PYLOS, GREECE
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Europe,Olympics,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA001059321032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The International Olympic Committee's outgoing president Thomas Bach on Friday (March 21) declined to comment on Russian President Vladimir Putin's congratulatory note to newly-elected IOC president Kirsty Coventry, saying it was his prerogative.
    Putin was among the first to congratulate Zimbabwe's Coventry following her election victory on Thursday (March 20), saying her "unique experience" would ensure the movement's advancement.
    Russia's Olympic Committee was suspended by the IOC in 2023, a year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
    Putin had also been the first world leader to call Coventry's predecessor Bach minutes after his 2013 election, a few months before Russia hosted the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
    In his press conference on Friday (March 21), Bach weighed in on how responsibilities would be divided between him and Coventry until he departs in June, saying his successor's opinion would prevail on any issue where their thoughts differed.
    The German also spoke about the impact of climate change on the Summer and Winter Olympics, calling on federations to come together and find solutions to secure the future of the Games.
    (Production: Stamos Prousalis, Aadi Nair)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Olympic restriction: Clip cannot be re-published without additional clearances from the IOC.
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