Madrid.- Spanish Juan Antonio Samaranch, British Sebastian Coe, French David Lappartient, Japanese Morinori Watanabe, Jordanian Feisal al Hussein, Swedish Johan Eliasch, and Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry are the seven candidates set to compete in the March 2025 elections for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The organization announced the list of contenders after the application deadline expired on Sunday, also detailing the term each candidate could serve as president based on their age.
Only Coventry and Lappartient, the youngest among them, could potentially fulfill a 12-year term without age-related restrictions.
The remaining contenders will reach the IOC’s retirement age of 70 before the end of an initial 8-year term in 2033 or a potential 4-year extension in 2037, making it necessary for them to win an exemption from the retirement rule.
According to the IOC, Al Hussein could be granted a 4-year extension to the retirement age until 2037; Eliasch until 2036; Watanabe and Samaranch until 2033; and Sebastian Coe only until 2030, meaning these four could not complete the full twelve years. Coe wouldn’t even finish the initial eight.
Feisal al Hussein will be 61 in October, Eliasch is 62, Watanabe is 65, Samaranch will turn 65 in November, and Coe will be 68 this September 29.
The winner of the elections will succeed Germany’s Thomas Bach as the tenth president of the IOC, an organization established in 1894 and responsible for organizing the premier global sports event, the Olympic Games.
The election process is scheduled to take place during a session from March 18 to 21, 2025, in Greece.
Among the contenders, four currently head international sports federations—Coe of athletics, Lappartient of cycling, Watanabe of gymnastics, and Eliasch of skiing; three are members of the current IOC Executive Board—Samaranch as vice president, Al Hussein, and Coventry; and two are Olympic champions—Coe and Coventry.
Candidates’ ages thus play a crucial role in the election, as voters may prefer not to support a nominee who cannot complete the full 12-year term.
Candidates who are IOC members because they are federation presidents must undergo another vote to change their status to individual members if elected as IOC president, in order to avoid conflicts of interest.
The four affected—Coe, Eliasch, Lappartient, and Watanabe—could be suggested for this status change. All past IOC presidents have been men. Kirsty Coventry is the second female candidate after American Anita DeFrantz, who ran in 2001 when Belgian Jacques Rogge won.
Given her youth—at 41 years old today—her distinguished Olympic swimming career, and her African heritage—with eight of the previous presidents being European and one American—Coventry, who also serves as a minister in her country, emerges as one of the favorites for the position.
Juan Antonio Samaranch is the son of the former IOC president of the same name who led the organization from 1980 to 2001. If elected, it would mark the first instance of a father and son leadership within the body, though other members have also had their parents in the assembly, including Alberto de Monaco and Nora de Liechtenstein.
The campaign rules for candidates are highly restrictive. Starting this Monday, they can release a candidacy document, promote themselves on personal social media, and participate in interviews.
However, they are not allowed to pay for advertising, host meetings or rallies, participate in debates, use communication agencies except for document production, mention other candidates, offer gifts, or any other prohibited activities.
All travel must be reported to an Ethics and Compliance Officer (CECO), with a recommendation to prefer virtual contacts over incurring travel expenses.
Other IOC members cannot publicly support any of the contenders, though they may like their posts on social media. This restriction does not apply to other members of the ‘Olympic family’ such as federations, sponsors, or organizing cities, etc.
In January, the IOC will host a briefing session in Lausanne for candidates and voters to present and explain their programs. Here are the seven candidates in detail:
creditos de las imagenes de este post: Elnacional.com.do
