Atmosphere. Less than two weeks before the election for the presidency of the International Triathlon Federation (World Triathlon), scheduled for Sunday, November 29 in virtual mode, the world body of the discipline is shaken by the turmoil. Its president, in particular, the Spaniard Marisol Casado (photo above), in place for twelve years, is a candidate for her own succession.
According to a series of confidential documents including FrancsJeux became aware, a complaint was filed against Marisol Casado, but also against two other World Triathlon officials: the general secretary, the Spaniard Antonio Arimany, and the president of the legal and constitutional commission, the Frenchman Bernard Saint-Jean. It comes from the World Triathlon tribunal, a sort of ethics and disciplinary committee, created in 2015 to rule on disputes concerning athletes, officials and national federations, particularly on disciplinary questions.
The complaint mentions “ multiple violations of World Triathlon values, principles and regulations. » She suggests that the governance of the international body would be corrupt. She argues that the three leaders, Marisol Casado, Antonio Arimany and Bernard Saint-Jean, would have tried to intervene in the composition of the World Triathlon tribunal, removing its current members to replace them without warning them with new ones on the occasion of the next elections.
The complaint in question was first sent, on November 10, 2020, to the Association of Summer Olympic International Sports Federations (ASOIF). A complete loss. The body chaired by the Italian Francesco Ricci Bitti declared itself incompetent to deal with the subject.
The plaintiffs are now turning to the IOC. In a letter dated November 17, the five members of the World Triathlon tribunal (Philippe Renz, Geneviève Pellerin, Ize Ukpoma Mate, Timo Pennanen and Kevin S. Sullivan) reiterated their request to the IOC Ethics Commission, chaired by the South Korean Ban Ki-moon, the former secretary general of the United Nations. They renew their accusations against Marisol Casado, Antonio Arimany and Bernard Saint-Jean. They demand a speech » of the IOC. “ Rapid intervention seems desirable given the seriousness of the offenses with which the three respondents are accused., they write in their letter to the IOC.
Less than two weeks before the World Triathlon elections, the matter is not trivial. His revelation is undoubtedly not innocent either. Marisol Casado is not only serving a fourth term at the head of the international body at the end of the month, but also her status as a member of the IOC, acquired during the Vancouver session in 2010. By losing the presidency, Sunday November 29 , the Spaniard would also have to renounce her status as a member of the Olympic body, the two mandates being directly linked.
Anything but a coincidence: Marisol Casado faces competition for the presidency of World Triathlon. The Dane Mads Freund, a former high-level triathlete, current president of the Danish federation of the discipline, has been leading a very active campaign for several months to try to overthrow the Spanish leader.
Marisol Casado, unsurprisingly, completely denies the accusations of the World Triathlon court. The election promises to be heated.
