Thomas Bach Former athlete, sports official Date of Birth: 29.12.1953 Country: Germany

Biography of Thomas Bach

Thomas Bach is a former German fencer and the current President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He was born in Germany and actively participated in sports during the 70s and 80s. Bach represented the national team of the Federal Republic of Germany in fencing, specializing in foil.

In the team foil event at the 1976 Olympics, Bach won a gold medal. However, he did not have the same success in the individual competition and did not even make it to the finals. Bach later won a gold medal at the World Championship in Buenos Aires in 1977 and silver medals in 1973 and bronze medals in 1979 and 1981.

After his athletic career, Bach served as the President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation from 2006 until September 2013. During this time, he decided to resign from his position to pursue the presidency of the International Olympic Committee. He also held other leadership positions, including the head of the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry project, from which he resigned, and remained the head of the Michael Weinig AG Company.

Bach was elected as the President of the IOC on September 10, 2013, during the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires. He competed against Sergey Bubka, Richard Carrion, and Denis Oswald for the position, with Carrion being his main competitor. Bach's term is for eight years, and he can seek re-election in 2021 for another four years.

As the President of the IOC, Bach aims to reform the bidding process for the Olympic Games and make significant changes to the existing system. He believes that the current system is overly complicated and demands too much too soon. Bach will also be responsible for reviewing bids for the 2022 Winter Olympics, with the final decision to be made during the 127th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July 2015.

Bach is fluent in French, English, Spanish, and German. He has received several prestigious awards, including the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Despite some controversy surrounding his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bach has supported Russia's participation in the Olympic Games. He has stated that the IOC has had a positive experience collaborating with Russia and Putin.

Overall, Thomas Bach has had a successful career as a fencer and has made significant contributions to the Olympic movement as the President of the IOC.