2001 Moscow (Russia)
112th IOC session from 13 to 07/16/2001
At the invitation of my Russian friend Irina, I was able to discover the special and historic atmosphere of an IOC session in exceptional conditions, since provided with the sacrosanct accreditation without which nothing is possible. I was able to attend the unfortunate elimination of our national candidacy (Paris 2008) and Beijing’s victory for the 2008 Summer Olympics but also to the election of the new IOC President, Jacques ROGGE, who replaced Juan Antonio SAMARANCH during this 2001 Moscow session.
Irina was able to obtain invitations for the gala dinner organized by the Russian NOC. An unforgettable and grandiose moment where nearly 1000 guests gathered in a huge room were able to attend the artistic performance given on this occasion. At my table of great personalities, former Russian Olympic medalists such as Galina PROZUMENSCHIKOVA-STEPANOVA (gold medal in 1964 Tokyo in swimming), Alexandre RAGULIN (gold medal in 1964 Innsbruck, 1968 Grenoble, and 1972 Sapporo in ice hockey) and Galina GOROKHOVA (gold medal in fencing in 1960 Roma, 1968 Mexico and 1972 Munich and silver medal in 1964 Tokyo). Very briefly, for lack of time, I visited Moscow, a very beautiful city. It was an intense week!