The US boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics left German lawyer Thomas Bach unable to defend his fencing title. Instead, he devoted the next 20 years to climbing the sports administrative ladder. His mission was to protect athletes’ independent rights, and his ambition to become IOC president. Bach was elected IOC president in 2013, and immediately set about transforming the organisation’s century-old constitution. His 40-point agenda launched a radical host city election procedure, while enforcing the International Federations’ internal disciplines and introducing new Olympic sports such as skateboarding. New age Olympics had arrived – but it wasn’t all smooth sailing. With Russia’s institutional cheating marring three consecutive Games, the near financial collapse of Rio ’16 and the threatened cancellation of Tokyo 2020, Bach sustained IOC equilibrium through repeated crises. Igniting the Games reveals how Bach transformed the Olympics and saved a ponderous ancient institution from itself.