The democratic exercise favours pre-written ballots in the international sports movement. One week after the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), where Fijian Robin Mitchell was elected president without the slightest opposition, another body re-elected its president without having to choose between several candidates. The Spaniard Antonio Espinós (photo above) was re-elected on Tuesday 25 October at the head of the International Karate Federation (WKF). At the helm since 1998, he was the only candidate for the position. With 94 votes out of a possible 99, the former karateka was re-elected for a new six-year term. Obviously, the national federations did not hold him responsible for the failure of karate to remain on the Olympic programme. An additional sport at the Tokyo 2020 Games, it was not retained for the Paris 2024 Games. But it is on the programme for the 2026 Dakar Youth Games, having made its debut at the 2018 YOG in Buenos Aires.
