Mohamed Ali Rashwan took home something far more valuable than gold from the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984. By refusing to attack his opponent’s clearly injured right leg, the Egyptian judoka lost an obvious opportunity to be crowned Olympic champion, but instead he won worldwide acclaim and inner peace.

Registration closes on 30 October for the new IOC Young Leaders programme, which offers young people the chance to learn how to research, design, deliver and scale a social business that uses the power of sport to make a positive impact on society.

By Thomas Bach, Olympic Champion in Fencing, Montreal 1976, and President of the International Olympic Committee.

The Tokyo Aquatics Centre was inaugurated today with a ceremony showcasing sport and inviting residents of the neighbourhood to discover this new facility.

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was today provided with interim reports on the situation of athletes in the Republic of Belarus and on the latest developments in the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). 

At only 19 years of age, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, ranked 54th in the world, astonished the world’s tennis experts by claiming her first Grand Slam title, without dropping a set, on the clay courts of Roland Garros. The daughter of an Olympic rower, she rose to prominence two years ago, winning doubles gold at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Buenos Aires. Now, she has her sights set on Tokyo.

Fifty-six years ago, Tokyo saw the opening of its first Olympic Games. That moment is seen by many as a turning point for Japan. The Games saw the country emerge from the devastating consequences of World War II as a united, peaceful member of the international community, a global industrial power and an exporter of top-quality technological goods.