Bach's speech a reminder of Olympic values' fragility

Thomas Bach focused on how peace is the essence of the Olympics, but also how fragile it is, in a speech on March 18 at the opening of the final International Olympic Committee (IOC) session he will preside over after 12 years in power.

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OLYMPIA - Thomas Bach focused on how peace is the essence of the Olympics, but also how fragile it is, in a speech on March 18 at the opening of the final International Olympic Committee (IOC) session he will preside over after 12 years in power.

The seven candidates vying to succeed the 71-year-old German as IOC president were in the audience gathered in a marquee as the rain poured at Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympics.

Bach's successor will be elected on March 20 but he will remain till June to ensure a smooth handover, something not accorded to him when he replaced Jacques Rogge in 2013.

"The Olympic Games and the values they represent have endured for millennia," he said. "And yet, the course of human history reminds us of their fragility."