IOC chief lauds PyeongChang Games as great success
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach speaks during the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Sunday. / Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach praised the Winter Olympics at PyeongChang as “great success” on Sunday.
“I think at the end of this Olympic Winter Games at PyeongChang 2018 we can all be very happy for many different reasons,” he said at a press conference before the closing ceremony.
“The IOC is very happy about the great success of these Olympic Games.”
There were two doping cases involving Russian athletes, but this had not tainted what the sporting event had accomplished over the past 17 days, he noted.
The Olympics were successful in many aspects.
Most importantly, there were no major incidents. There were some minor accidents and crimes. But all the athletes have returned to their homes safely.
Moreover, ticket sales were far higher than expected. Lee Hee-beom, chief of the organizing committee, said more than 1.14 million people paid to watch the Games in person ― “a record in the history of the Winter Olympics,” he said.
Politically, the Olympics has brought South and North Koreas ― two neighbors that had long been hostile to each other ― closer, creating a peaceful atmosphere for talks.
“We hope now that the political world will use this momentum for dialogue, because now it’s up to the politicians,” Bach said.
“Sport and the IOC have done what we could do in this respect. We will continue this dialogue for Olympic matters but what is more important now is that this dialogue is being followed up on the political side concerning the political tensions.”
On Monday, the South Korean delegation to the Olympics officially disbanded.
“In run-up to the Olympics, we were all worried. But we all worked together to finish it with a bang,” said Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan.