LONDON: International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Thursday hailed Seiko Hashimoto, who became new president of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organizing committee.

“With her great Olympic experience,” Hashimoto is “the perfect choice for this position,” Bach said in a statement. Hashimoto replaced Yoshiro Mori, who quit as president of the organizing committee over his recent sexist remarks.

Hashimoto competed in four Winter Olympics as a speed skater and three Summer Olympics as a cyclist. She won a bronze medal for women’s 1,500-meter speed skating in the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France.

With the appointment of a woman as president, the Tokyo Games organizing committee “is also sending a very important signal with regard to gender equality,” Bach said.

International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons also showed his expectations for Hashimoto, in a separate statement released on the day. “I look forward to her to using the games as a platform to advance the diversity and inclusion agenda, not just in terms of gender, but sexuality, race and, importantly, persons with disabilities,” Parsons said.

JIJI Press