No surprises as IOC announces Bach succession bids

London, UK | INSIDE THE GAMES | Only one woman figures among the seven candidates revealed on Monday and headlined by Sebastien Coe, who will compete in the next presidential elections of the International Olympic Committee after current chair Thomas Bach declined to fulfil a third term in August.

Coe, the Briton in charge of World Athletics who had long and widely been thought-of as the front-runner, will have to fend of 41-year-old Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe along with five other male candidates: Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan, David Lapparient of France, Morinari Watanabe of Japan and Johan Eliasch also of Great Britain, clearly the dark horse in the race.

Since Bach originally announced he would leave office at the tail end of the Paris 2024 Games, Coe had remained on top of the list of possible successors; but as the presidential race kicks off this week after the IOC’s recent rule changes, he might face a tougher road ahead than he first expected. 20 and 24 January 2025 have been set as dates when candidates will address the 111 IOC members, who should then elect their new president during the organisation’s 143rd Session scheduled from 18 to 21 March in Greece.

Coe’s World Athletics credentials and visible leadership of the London 2012 Olympic bid are a huge plus when considering the potential president’s makeover, but his age remains a concern, as statutes underline the need for the IOC boss to not be over 70 years old and the Britton is currently 67.

While his relationship with Bach is not what it used to be after World Athletics promoted independent initiatives like awarding prize-money in the Olympics, a letter sent by the IOC Ethics Committee to its 11 members was released on Wednesday making it clear that he would need two exemptions from his peers to run for office.

Seven candidates announced for IOC presidency.

Find out who they are https://t.co/YkJZ0jfuCg

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) September 16, 2024

The rules also pose a problem for Samaranch, who turns 65 in November. An exemption to extend membership for another four years is possible, so the eventual Spanish president would rule for only eight years, with no chance of being re-elected for four, as was the case with Jacques Rogge (2001-2013) and Bach (2013-2025). As for Coe, even with a possible four-year extension he would still be over 74 years old before completing his term, which expires in 2033.

The recent rule update emphasises that candidates must be IOC members “on election day and during the entire duration of their term as IOC President.” Coe’s IOC membership depends on his role at World Athletics, which he must vacate in 2027 after serving 12 years, complicating his eligibility.

Some expected a higher number of women to run for the presidency, but neither Aruba’s Nicole Hoevertsz nor Morocco’s Nawal El Moutawakel nor South African Caster Semenya finally stepped up, leaving five other men, besides Coe, to compete with Coventry, the former swimmer and lone female bid.

A candidate who seems to have the current boss’ backing is 51-year-old Lappartient, president of the International Cycling Union (UCI), who prominently figured alongside Bach in many Paris 2024 events, while ex wrestler Prince Feisal, who is 60 years old, and Watanabe, at 65 the Japanese president of the International Gymnastics Federation, will also play their hand next to Samaranch of Spain. As far as Olympic pedigree goes, Samaranch is undoubtedly in a class by himself as he is the son of the former IOC president for 21 years who bared the same name, left office in 2001 after the Salt Lake City Games bid controversy and died in 2010.

Eliasch, the current president of the International Ski Federation and former curler did not feature among the best bets to make the final list of seven while one notable absence is the name of the president of Panamerican Sports, Chilean Neven Ilic.

“The candidates will present their programmes, in camera, to the full IOC membership on the occasion of a meeting to be held in Lausanne (Switzerland) in January 2025,” read a short IOC statement unveiling the candidates.

Bach laid out plans for new elections in August and explained he would stay on until 24 June to oversee a smooth transition. “In order to safeguard the credibility of the IOC we all, and in particular I as your president, have to respect the highest standards of good governance we have set for ourselves,” he stated then.

Over its 130-year history, the IOC has had nine presidents, all of whom have been men, with none hailing from Africa, Asia, or Latin America.

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SOURCE: Inside The Games