14 May 2025 - More than 50 representatives from 40 Summer and Winter International Sports Federations (IFs) gathered at Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 13 May 2025 for a highly interactive workshop on the prevention of competition manipulation.
All IFs with sports on the programme of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 and Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 were invited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to attend the meeting, following a first successful workshop in 2023.
Led by the Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions (OM Unit PMC), the meeting was centred on the latest developments within the three main pillars of the Unit’s strategy: regulation and legislation; awareness-raising and capacity-building; and intelligence and investigations.
Specifically, the main focus was on how to include National Federations (NFs) in sports integrity initiatives and how to maximise the potential of values-based education to prevent unethical conduct.
Engaging with key stakeholders has resulted in tangible successes in the prevention of competition manipulation in the past. At the latest meeting, participants actively contributed with ideas on how to enhance collaboration with NFs. They also discussed how to co-create tools and campaigns with the IOC to raise awareness among athletes, coaches and referees about the threat of competition manipulation in the lead-up to Milano Cortina 2026 and Dakar 2026.
In addition, the meeting provided the OM Unit PMC with the opportunity to present three new sets of guidelines, which will support the implementation of stakeholder activities:
- Guidelines for Awareness-Raising Activities;
- Guidelines on the Implementation of the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions; and
- Guidelines on the Sanctioning of Competition Manipulation.
Athletes as champions of integrity
A number of athlete ambassadors and integrity experts from National Olympic Committees (NOCs) were also in attendance to share their experiences.
The OM Unit PMC recently enhanced its ambassadors programme for the IOC’s Believe in Sport campaign, establishing two official groups of ambassadors. The first group includes all ambassadors who are selected and managed by, and take part in the activations of, their NOC or IF. The second group of ambassadors is appointed by the OM Unit PMC to support IOC activities.
“Being aware of a threat is the first step to avoiding it. The next necessity is to have the knowledge and tools to fight it,” highlighted athlete ambassador Saulius Ritter. The three-time Olympian and Olympic medallist in rowing, who is now Secretary General of the Lithuanian Rowing Federation, attended the workshop to share his experiences in engaging athletes for the cause. “Peer-to-peer communication is very impactful in my view, and it’s great to see our global network of athlete ambassadors growing in the run-up to Milano Cortina 2026, but also the Youth Olympic Games next year in Dakar and, of course, LA28.”
Through dedicated panel discussions, workshop attendees learnt from organisations that have already successfully leveraged their athletes as champions of integrity. “By nature, athletes are often happy to promote good causes and give back to their sport – we have had very good experiences using our athletes’ voices to advocate fair sport,” said Justin Lessard from World Aquatics during the session.
Ramping up efforts ahead of Milano Cortina 2026
“With Milano Cortina 2026 around the corner, this workshop was extremely useful to refresh our knowledge, get up to date on the latest developments in the prevention of competition manipulation and coordinate our efforts with the IOC and the other Winter IFs,” said Heike Grösswang, Secretary General of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF). She added: “Most importantly, it also helped us to plan the next steps in the collaboration with our National Federations.”
“As we have embarked on a new Olympic cycle, it’s important to know that we have the IFs on board, and their turnout and engagement during this workshop demonstrate that,” said Head of the OM Unit PMC Friedrich Martens. “We wanted this day to be as interactive as possible, and it was great to see how the participants shared their experiences and challenges, and were keen to learn more. We are also implementing similar education initiatives aimed at all NOCs across the globe. In fact, the more we combine our efforts, the more we will be successful in safeguarding sports integrity.”
Sharing, learning and experiencing
During a number of break-out sessions, participants dived deeper into certain topics, for example looking at how to leverage IF communication platforms for awareness-raising activities; the rules in place and how to educate others about them in fun ways; and the profile and role of athlete ambassadors. In addition, participants had the chance to experience first-hand the learning activities the OM Unit PMC offers to athletes and their entourage at major sports events, by visiting a replica of the educational booth on the prevention of competition manipulation.
Engaging the Olympic Movement
Meetings of this kind form part of the IOC’s efforts to engage all the Olympic Movement stakeholders in protecting the integrity of sporting competitions. The initiatives to prevent competition manipulation are led by the OM Unit PMC, which was set up in 2017. In March 2023, the IOC decided to allocate a fund of USD 10 million per Olympiad to continue to support the successful work of this Unit.
