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PYLOS (Greece): The race to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee is nearing the finish with Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry widely seen to be clear of the remaining quartet.
Any of those three would be an historic winner in the election in Greece on Thursday.
Samaranch would emulate his father of the same name and become the first father and son to be crowned president, Coe would be the first Briton and Zimbabwean Coventry the youngest at 41, and both the first woman and African.
Nevertheless surprises from the electorate of 100-plus IOC members cannot be ruled out in the battle to become the most powerful figure in sport governance.
International Ski and Snowboard Federation chief and renowned environmentalist Johan Eliasch, Morinari Watanabe, president of the gymnastics federation, cycling head David Lappartient and Prince Feisal al-Hussein make up the heavyweight field.
The winner of Thursday’s vote, held in a seaside resort near the southern Greek town of Pylos, will shape world sport along with international sports federations, national Olympic committees and the IOC’s top sponsors.
The next IOC president must also immediately tackle a number of issues to secure continued success of the Olympic Games, the main product of the multi-billion dollar IOC operation.
Among them are the establishment of clear competition rules for transgender athletes, an issue that could potentially create friction with the US government, after President Donald Trump excluded transgender athletes from competitions last month.
The IOC currently allows transgender athletes to take part in the Games but it is under pressure to come up with a universal rule instead of relying on each separate sports federation’s decisions.
The relationship with Trump will also prove crucial for the Los Angeles 2028 summer Olympics. All candidates have highlighted the support of the Games from Trump with Lappartient saying the IOC would also need to secure its autonomy.
The new president will also need to deal with the issue of Russia, whose Olympic committee has been banned for violating the Olympic Charter in relation to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Some of its athletes competed as neutrals at last year’s Paris Olympics.
Bach’s departure comes with the organisation in a financially robust position, having secured $7.3 billion from media rights, sponsorship and other revenue streams for 2025-28 and $6.2 billion in contracts for 2029-2032.
Last week the IOC also announced a $3.0 billion extension of NBCUniversal’s U.S. Olympic media rights until 2036, but the departure of several sponsors last year has seen calls for changes to its marketing structure.
In order to land the job the candidates will go through several rounds of voting with a majority unlikely for any in the first rounds. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated in each round.
For Olympic champion Coe the limited access to his fellow members to present his plans, due to strict IOC rules, was far from ideal.
Coe appears to be seen by Bach as the disruptor candidate, which is perhaps surprising given many would view him as an establishment figure.
While 65-year-old Samaranch Junior, an assured and polished performer with over two decades as an IOC member, brings a calm urbanity, two-time Olympic 1500 metres champion Coe oozes charisma and a ready wit.
Coe, 68, also boasts an impressive CV. A former lawmaker for the centre-right Conservatives, he led London’s successful bid to host the 2012 Games, surprising long-time front-runners Paris.
He then took the plaudits along with his team for the highly-praised hosting of the Games and has been credited with reforming World Athletics since becoming president in 2015.
Both Samaranch Junior and Coe have conducted high-profile media campaigns in contrast to Coventry’s low-key strategy.
The seven-time Olympic swimming medallist, two of them gold, is widely seen as being Bach’s preferred candidate, something she denies.
She has also been firm about protecting women in sport.
It remains to be seen in which direction the membership, which includes sports administrators, entrepreneurs, royalty and billionaires, wants the Olympic Games to take.
Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2025
