Hunt Claims His/Moynihan’s BOA Position Unharmed by Row

April 20, 2011

Andy Hunt, chief executive of the British Olympic Association (BOA), has refuted claims that his position, as well as that of chairman Colin Moynihan, has been weakened by the deal that brought an end to a bitter dispute with the London 2012 Olympic Games organising committee (LOCOG).

The BOA was forced to give way in its cash row with LOCOG, a case which they had initially stated that they would take to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and abandoned its legal action against Games organisers.

The deal agreed will see LOCOG waive rights to royalties on two items of Team GB merchandise and will also allow the BOA to buy extra Olympic Games tickets and Hunt denied the episode had jeopardised his position, telling Sky News: “Not at all. We work with our boards, and with the IOC (International Olympic Committee), and the 33 sports to make sure that we were pursuing a contractual right that we had. We have consulted widely, and everyone has supported the way we have handled this.”

Hunt added: “We have always said we wanted a settlement and that’s what we have got. When you have to pursue something that you think is right, it might not always be popular. What we have done in pursuing what was a narrow contractual dispute has been blown out of all proportion and now we are taking a stand to make sure we can close it off and agree a settlement that helps LOCOG and British athletes.”

London 2012 has agreed “in principle” to lift the suspension of Moynihan and Hunt from its board meetings and LOCOG chief executive Paul Deighton added: “We are obviously pleased to get the dispute behind us so we can just move on and concentrate on what’s important, which is delivering a great Games and a great Team GB that can win medals.”