Bach, Thomas

Thomas Bach, IOC President, Rebukes a Chinese Official Over Political Comments

Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, issued what amounted to a rare and surprising rebuke of a Chinese Olympic official during a news conference Friday. His remarks came after Yan Jiarong, a spokeswoman for the Beijing Olympics, made comments at a news conference the previous day that seemed to violate Olympic rules […]

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Peng Shuai Meets IOC Leader at Winter Olympics

Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis player who largely disappeared from public life after making sexual abuse accusations against a political official in November, held a private meeting with Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, in Beijing over the weekend. The two had dinner on Saturday at the Olympic Club and were joined […]

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IOC Says It Held Second Video Call With Peng Shuai

The International Olympic Committee said Thursday that it had held a second call with the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, trying anew to deflect criticism of its light-touch approach to China only months before the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. “We share the same concern as many other people and organizations about the well-being and […]

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Video of Peng Shuai With Olympic Officials Fuels a Showdown With Tennis

According to the I.O.C. statement, Bach invited Peng to a dinner when he arrives for the Games in Beijing, which would include Terho and Li Lingwei, an I.O.C. member and Chinese Tennis Federation official who also participated in the call. However, the seemingly friendly banter and dinner plans did little to satisfy Steve Simon, the […]

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Where Is Peng Shuai? The Question the I.O.C. Is Too Weak To Ask.

Where is Peng Shuai? That’s the question the International Olympic Committee and its president, Thomas Bach, should be shouting right now — loud, demanding, and aimed squarely at the leadership in China, set to host the Beijing Games in February. But instead of firm demands, we’re hearing not much more than faint, servile whispers from […]

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