ITA Chair addresses National Olympic Committees at ANOC General Assembly

Dr Valérie Fourneyron, the chair of the ITA Foundation Board, was honoured to address National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and representatives of the international sports movement at the 25th ANOC General Assembly. the focus was on the successful cooperation in the implementation of the independent anti-doping programme at the Olympic Games in Tokyo that the ITA had managed, the upcoming winter games in Beijing and increased cooperation regarding major continental events.

Tokyo 2020: ITA succeeded in fully implementing anti-doping program for Olympic Games despite challenging COVID-19 circumstances

A total of 6’200 collected samples from over 5’000 doping controls, more than one-third of the athlete population in Tokyo tested at least once – these are the final figures of ita’s anti-doping program for Tokyo 2020. Six anti-doping rule violations were asserted to this moment as the outcome of ita’s testing program. The vast majority of doping controls were targeted and followed a quality approach based on an extensive risk assessment, performance and available intelligence. The last phase of ita’s comprehensive anti-doping program for Tokyo 2020 is the storage and later re-analysis of samples collected during and in the lead-up to the games.

Paralympian stripped of gold medal for arriving three minutes late to event

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has stripped Malaysian shot putter Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli of his gold medal as he arrived three minutes late for the event.

Heat countermeasures protecting athletes at Tokyo 2020

Organisers of summer sports events have to plan carefully to prevent heat-related illnesses. A group of medical experts have developed a suite of tools for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, to counteract the effects of high temperatures and keep the competitions safe for athletes.

The CAS Ad Hoc Division rejects the application filed by Ukrainian racewalker Nazar Kovalenko

Tokyo, 4 August 2021 – The Ad Hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decision in the matter CAS OG 20/12 Nazar Kovalenko v. World Athletics (WA) & Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU):

Shot putter Saunders could face IOC action after Tokyo Olympics podium demonstration

American shot putter Raven Saunders became the first athlete to demonstrate on the podium at the Tokyo Olympics when she formed an X with her arms above her head after collecting her silver medal.

Saunders told the Associated Press that the gesture represents “the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet.” IOC Rule 50 governs athlete protests and demonstrations and whilst rules have been partially relaxed it has been stressed that any demonstrations on the podium are off limits.

Mixed-gender events: a sign of innovation and greater gender diversity at Tokyo 2020

To promote greater gender diversity at the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has introduced multiple new mixed-gender events at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. They are providing an exciting new competition format and are often unpredictable and thrilling to the end for both competitors and fans.

Sport and intellectual property – the year in review 2020/21

Published Monday, 26 July 2021.

IOC publishes Tokyo 2020 Sport-Specific Regulations

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) this week published the Tokyo 2020 Sport-Specific Regulations (SSRs), which aim to determine how any impact of a confirmed positive COVID-19 case would be managed in competition formats and structures at these Games. The regulations have been jointly developed between the IOC and the International Federations (IFs) whose sports are on the Olympic programme of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Can the Tokyo Games still be cancelled? Yes, but the legal and financial fallout would be staggering

title image - track athlete completing race

Published Friday, 04 June 2021.

IOC and Tokyo 2020 agree on measures to deliver games fit for a post-corona world

The IOC coordination commission and the tokyo 2020 organising committee agreed today, 25 september, on a series of measures to make the olympic games tokyo 2020 fit for a post-corona world.

COVID-19: can sporting event organisers claim under their cancellation insurance?

Published Monday, 30 March 2020.

How competition law is shaping Olympic sponsorship: Part 2 – Germany's Competition Authority helps ease restrictions on athletes

Published Wednesday, 26 February 2020.

How competition law is shaping Olympic sponsorship: Part 1 – the origins and evolution of Rule 40

Published Wednesday, 19 February 2020.

Plans underway for pro bono legal services for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympics Games

Published Thursday, 13 June 2019.

The opportunity for sports lawyers at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games - Takuya Yamazaki - Episode 62

Key sports law cases and developments to watch in 2018 - Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia

EMEA Asia and Australia Key Sports Law Issues 2018 Image

ISSF Meetings: Tokyo 2020 recommendation, Agenda 2020 implementations and Championships designation

How will the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games change sports law in Japan? - Episode 30

Title image for interview with Takuya Yamazaki re sports law and 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games

Olympic broadcasters look ahead to Beijing 2022 after success of Tokyo 2020

Following the ground-breaking coverage of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Olympic Broadcasting Services and rights-holding broadcasters around the world are now turning their attention to the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

IOC Executive Board suspends NOC of Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today decided to suspend the Olympic Committee of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (PRK NOC) until the end of 2022, as a result of the NOC’s unilateral decision not to participate in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

WADA ensures equal treatment for athletes in the results management process at Tokyo 2020 Games

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are sporting spectacles like no other. Once every other year, the eyes of the world are squarely focused on the world’s best athletes as they push the limits of the body and mind. However, like any other major event, there is far more going on in the background than meets the eye.

Tokyo Olympians elect four new members to IOC Athletes’ Commission

The athletes at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 have elected Pau Gasol, Maja Włoszczowska, Federica Pellegrini and Yuki Ota to the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Athletes’ Commission (AC), for a term ending at the Olympic Games LA28. The newly elected members join the Commission to represent the athlete voice within the Olympic Movement.

Teamwork is the key for WADA’s Independent Observers at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is full of teams. Hundreds of national teams, various squads of players for specific team events, individual athletes and their teams of coaches and entourage and even teams of organizers that are busy behind the scenes ensuring the Games run smoothly. And for the members of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) Independent Observer (IO) team, it is every bit as important that they work together as a cohesive unit in order to be effective in monitoring the anti-doping system in place during the Games.

The CAS Ad Hoc Division rejects the applications filed by the National Olympic Committees of Belgium and the Netherlands: 4 x 400m mixed relay final results unchanged

Tokyo, 2 August 2021 – The Ad Hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decision in the following matters:

CAS OG 20/10 National Olympic Committee of Belgium (NOC Belgium) v. World Athletics (WA) & United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) & National Olympic Committee of the Dominican Republic (NOC Dominican Republic)

The WADA-accredited Tokyo anti-doping laboratory: operating around the clock to safeguard the integrity of the Games

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games now fully underway, and the Paralympic Games soon to follow, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited Tokyo laboratory is operating twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to analyze athlete samples and safeguard the integrity of the Games.

The CAS Ad Hoc Division dismisses the application filed by Jennifer Harding-Marlin (St Kitts and Nevis)

Tokyo, 19 July 2021 – The Ad Hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decision in the matter OG 20/03 Jennifer Harding-Marlin v. St Kitts & Nevis Olympic Committee (SKNOC) & International Swimming Federation (FINA). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the St. Kitts & Nevis Swimming Federation (SKSF) were involved in the procedure as interested parties.

Joint Statement on Spectator Capacities at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Today, on 21 June, the five parties, namely the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) and the Government of Japan (GoJ), met to discuss spectator limits for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The IOC and IPC were informed about and support the policies the three Japanese parties have decided on.

Japanese Government considers making private health insurance compulsory for Tokyo 2020 visitors

IWRF President Richard Allcroft on Tokyo 2020 and the future of international wheelchair rugby

International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) President, Richard Allcroft, talks about the sport’s plans for expansion, improvements in governance and developing its relationship with World Rugby ahead of what promises to be, in his words, “an interesting 2021”.