IOC President Bach visits Jamaica

President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, will for the first time set foot on the soil of Jamaica as he pays an official and historic visit to the island. The visit starts today.

The world governing Olympic body's head will undertake a hectic schedule, and President of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) Christopher Samuda expects a very successful visit.

"President Bach's engagement will deepen and embolden our continuing commitment to the values of the Olympics as a way of life in sports while providing a welcomed opportunity for an interface with members of the local Olympic family," Samuda said.

In July 2018, the current JOA administration established a petal from the flame of the cauldron of the 2012 London Olympic Games at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.

According to JOA Secretary General Ryan Foster, the cauldron was established in Jamaica: "as a landmark embodying the ideals of a global sports movement, giving earnest hope to the burning aspirations of Jamaica's sportsmen and women in their pursuit of excellence, and kindling the ambitious light of our youth to emulate."

Fraternal unity, celebrated by the top brass of the JOA and IOC meeting on common ground to advance the Olympic agenda, will be at the forefront of Bach's visit to the island.

"A meeting of the minds in sport, a mutuality of purpose and will and commonality of values will characterise discussions and anchor outcomes," Samuda said.

President Bach, a Montreal 1976 Olympic Games gold medallist in foil in fencing and a lawyer by profession, will depart the island with his delegation on Sunday to the Dominican Republic.