No more time to waste. With less than a year until the Tokyo 2020 Games, applicants for a seat on the IOC Athletes' Commission must prepare their applications without delay. After September 9, it will be too late to start the race.
According to the site Insidethegames, the IOC has set a deadline of Monday September 9 at midnight to submit an application to the Athletes' Commission. The international organization also confirmed that four places were to be filled during the next elections. They will be held during the Tokyo 2020 Games. Competitors will be invited to vote within the Olympic village itself or its variations for very remote sites.
Four members, all elected for 8 years at the London 2012 Games, will give up their seats on the evening of the Tokyo 2020 Games: former Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry, current president of the athletes' commission, former Australian rower James Tomkins, the French Tony Estanguet, three-time Olympic canoe-kayak champion, and finally the Slovak Danka Bartekova, bronze medalist in shooting at the London Games in 2012.
Under IOC rules, only Kirsty Coventry and Danka Bartekova can seek re-election. Both were present as athletes at the Rio 2016 Games. James Tomkins and Tony Estanguet, on the other hand, must return their outfits as members of the Olympic institution.
Who will replace them? The official list of candidates will be revealed by the IOC after September 9. It will undoubtedly include more than ten athletes, active or recently retired.
Three names are already emerging among the possible, even probable, applicants. The first is French. Renaud Lavillenie (photo above, with Thomas Bach) no longer makes a secret of it: he aims to succeed Tony Estanguet as the third representative of France, after Guy Drut and Jean-Christophe Rolland, within the IOC. “ I want to run for office, entrusted the pole vaulter to L'Equipe. I believe that I have the legitimacy for this and it is a commitment that interests me. »
The pole vault world record holder is campaigning. He took advantage of the last Diamond League meeting in Monaco, in July, to speak with Sebastian Coe, the president of the IAAF. The Briton is not a member of the IOC, but he has promised his support. Unless there is a surprise, Renaud Lavillenie will be presented by the CNOSF.
It remains to be seen whether the lobbying of the French sports movement, very effective at the London Games to support Tony Estanguet's candidacy, will be able to serve his ambition. In the less recent past, several big names presented by France have failed in their attempt, including David Douillet, Antoine Denériaz and Amélie Mauresmo.
Another presumed candidate: Federica Pellegrini. The Italian swimmer, Olympic 200m champion at the Beijing Games in 2008, should end her career next year in Tokyo. His candidacy would be pushed hard by Giovanni Malago, the president of the Italian Olympic committee (CONI), himself very recently joined the IOC. The big victory of Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo in the race for the Winter Games in 2026 demonstrated it: Italy has regained its influence in the Olympic movement. An asset for Federica Pellegrini.
The third name is Spanish. It also displays planetary influence. Pau Gasol, 39, spent nearly 20 years on the NBA floor, successively wearing the jersey of the Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trailblazers. Above all, he won three Olympic medals with the Spanish team (silver in 2008 and 2012, bronze in 2016). A customer. Pau Gasol will be presented by the Spanish Olympic Committee.
According to IOC rules, the list of candidates must be studied in detail by the elections commission, then it will pass into the hands of the executive board. Its final version should be known before the end of the year. Clarification: the four members elected on the sidelines of the Tokyo Games must represent four countries and four different sports.
