In a meeting held by the IOC Executive Committee this Tuesday, March 19 in Lausanne, Switzerland, he viewed with optimism the decision of the General Assembly of the Guatemalan Olympic Committee on March 16 where Jorge Rodas and his Executive Committee were ignored and Gerardo Aguirre was recognized as president of the COG.
As a result, the IOC decided to provisionally lift the sanction imposed on Guatemala in October 2022, allowing Guatemalan athletes to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with their national flag and colors.
However, for the decision to be final, it will be necessary for the Constitutional Court (CC) promptly resolves the suspension of the statutes approved on December 23, 2021.
“In the interest of the athletes of Guatemala and due to recent events in the country as well as an Assembly that took place over the weekend, the IOC decided to provisionally lift the suspension of the National Olympic Committee of Guatemala until further notice, this means that the NOC of Guatemala can operate once more under the Olympic Charter and under the statutes approved in December 2021“said James Macleod of the IOC at a press conference this Tuesday.
At the IOC meeting in Switzerland, topics such as progress in the organization of the Paris games were discussed; the order in the opening parade, the situation of the Russian and Belarusian athletes, the refugees and the decision to allow national athletes once more to represent the country in an event of the Olympic cycle and not as happened in the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador and the Pan American Games in Santiago 2023 where Guatemalans participated as independents.
So far, a total of 10 Guatemalan athletes have qualified for the next edition of the Olympic Games, which will be held on July 26 and August 11, 2024 in the French city of Paris.
Adriana Ruano, Jean Pierre Brol, Waleska Soto, Sebastian Bermudez, shooting with hunting weapons; Jose Alexander Barrondo, Luis Grijalva and Alberto Gonzalez, athletics; Sophia Hernández and Andrés Fernández, in pentathlon, and Juan Maegli, in sailboat are those who make up the Guatemalan delegation at the moment.
It is expected that in the coming months more qualified athletes will join, some of those who are fighting for their Olympic ticket are Kevin Cordón from badminton, Gilberto Lemus from weightlifting, the relay team, among others.
President Arévalo speaks out
Hours following the IOC’s pronouncement, the President of the Republic of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, used his social networks to share a message regarding the provisional lifting of the suspension.
“This is news that should give us a lot of satisfaction, a lot of joy. The Guatemalan flag will fly in full in Paris and our athletes will ensure that we hear our anthem on the podiums as many times as possible. We thank the president of the International Olympic Committee for these efforts. Congratulations people of Guatemala!“said the president.
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