Olympics: Who will take the helm at the IOC?

Thomas Bach will remain the main mastermind at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) until his departure. After the 70-year-old declared in August on the sidelines of the Olympic Games in Paris that he would not attempt to remain at the head of the Order of the Rings beyond his second term in office, the applicants had to submit their candidacy directly to Bach. The lawyer from Würzburg wants to have an important say in the search for a successor.

Since the IOC was founded in 1894, there have only been a total of nine IOC presidents. Unlike Bach’s election in 2013, this time there is no potential heir to the throne for the coveted position at the top of world sport, which is only available every eight, and usually only every twelve, years. Instead, there are a lot of variables that come into play when the 111 IOC members entitled to vote will elect their new head from among their ranks.

Who is running?

Prinz Feisal al Hussein, 60: IOC member since 2010, on the Executive Board since 2019. Younger brother of King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Sebastian Coe, 67: IOC member since 2020. President of the World Athletics Association since 2015. Olympic champion in the 1500 meters in 1980 and 1984. Sat for the Tories in the British House of Commons from 1992 to 1997. Head of the London 2012 Organizing Committee.

Kirsty Coventry, 41: IOC member since 2013, on the Executive Board since 2018. Former athlete spokesperson. Olympic champion in the 200 meter backstroke in 2004 and 2008. Minister of Sports of Zimbabwe since 2018.

Johan Eliasch, 62: IOC member since August. President of the International Ski Federation FIS since 2021. Owner of the sporting goods brand Head, CEO until 2021. Swedish-British citizen.

David Lappartient, 51: IOC member since 2022. President of the International Cycling Federation UCI since 2017. President of the French Olympic Committee and head of the French Alps’ successful bid for the 2030 Winter Games.

Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., 64: IOC member since 2001, Vice President since 2022 and member of the Executive Board from 2012 to 2020. Founder of an investment bank based in his home country of Spain. His father was IOC president from 1980 to 2001.

Morinari Watanabe, 65: IOC member since 2018. President of the International Gymnastics Federation FIG since 2017. Japanese.

The procedure

After now all seven candidates are known, more than ever before in an IOC election, the IOC will meet in January at its headquarters in Lausanne (Switzerland). The candidates will present themselves there to the assembled IOC members and will then be formally confirmed. You are not allowed to publish campaign videos, organize public meetings or take part in public debates.

The new IOC head will be elected at the 143rd IOC session, which will be held from March 18 to 21, 2025 on the Greek Peloponnese peninsula not far from ancient Olympia. His first term lasts eight years; a second term is possible, but then only for four years. Special feature: Thomas Bach will only hand over the official duties on June 23, 2025 after a transition phase. The ex-fencer wants the succession to be arranged in his own way.

Age limit 70 years

The IOC rules are complicated when it comes to the presidency: the age limit for IOC members is a problem for almost all of the current applicants. At the end of the year in which an IOC member turns 70, there is a loud divorce IOC-Charta automatically off. However, a one-time extension of four years is possible. Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary General of the United Nations, is now head of the IOC Ethics Commission. He noted in a letter last week that a president must be a member for the entire term.

Never a female president

All previous IOC presidents were white men, eight came from Europe and one from the USA (Avery Brundage 1952–1972). To date, only one woman has ever applied for the IOC presidency: the American Anita DeFrantz, who lost the election in 2001 to the Belgian Jacques Rogge. In this respect, Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe is given a good chance. She is already on the executive board and is considered Bach’s favorite.

Asia and Africa have so far been left out

The former athlete spokeswoman Coventry also meets another criterion for all those who want to promote the modernization of the IOC to the outside world: she comes from Africa. Although Latin America or Asia have never had an IOC boss, both Prince Feisal from Jordan and gymnastics official Watanabe from Japan are currently only given outsider chances.

Membership problem

Of course, speculation has already begun as to who is most likely to win the presidential race. The job is considered voluntary, but an annual allowance of $275,000 is paid. In many western countries, Sebastian Coe is considered the most suitable. The Brit has a bad hand with Thomas Bach, especially after he paid the Olympic champions in athletics a $50,000 bonus each in Paris in a solo effort in his sport. Opinions previously differed widely about how to treat Russian athletes.

For Sebastian Coe, the age limit is a real hurdle. He turns 68 on September 29th and could not complete a first term until 2033 even with an extension. A special regulation would have to be created for him before he would leave in 2030. In addition, he is only part of the IOC as a function, “ex officio” as President of World Athletic. According to the Ethics Commission, this results in a conflict of interest. Coe would have to quit World Athletics and instead be retroactively accepted as a full member. However, this also applies to the surprise skiing candidate Eliasch and the cycling Frenchman Lappartient, who is supported by President Emmanuel Macron.