His name remains little known, his face even less so, but the Belgian Ingmar De Vos will not be able to shroud himself in discretion for much longer. He is, without the slightest doubt, one of the rising men in the Olympic movement.
His collection of caps, already rich, will gain a new piece next month. Certainly one of the most visible: Ingmar De Vos, 60 years old, president of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), will take the place of honor of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF).
The body announced it via a press release: the Belgian leader, member of the ASOIF Council since 2019, is the only candidate to succeed the outgoing president, Francesco Ricci Bitti. The Italian will return the keys to his office at the end of his third and final mandate, on December 31, 2024. With no rival for the position, Ingmar De Vos will replace him for a first four-year lease, starting on January 1.
In the meantime, ASOIF members will have chosen their new president in a secret ballot, the outcome of which is beyond doubt. The election will be held during the 48th General Assembly, scheduled to take place on the sidelines of SportAccord, on April 9 in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
By settling into the chair of president of ASOIF, Ingmar De Vos will not just enrich an already gilded CV. Above all, he will take charge of an organization whose role within the Olympic movement could prove more central than ever, at a time when the Summer Games program seems destined to evolve from one edition to another.
Unknown before his election as president of the FEI in 2014, where he succeeded Princess Haya bint al-Hussein of Jordan, Ingmar De Vos did not linger long at the back of the pack in the Olympic movement. In 2017, he joined the IOC during the Lima session. Two years later, he was invited to serve on the ASOIF Council.
Since then, the Belgian has secured a third and final mandate at the head of the FEI, without opposition, in November 2022. Above all, he has taken a growing place within the IOC, sitting on the coordination commissions for the Los Angeles 2028 Games, legal affairs, and gender equality, diversity and inclusion.
Ingmar De Vos is also a member of the SportAccord executive committee, representing ASOIF on the executive committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). He sits on the board of directors of the Belgian Olympic Committee. Finally, it belongs to the network “ International Gender Champion » of the United Nations in favor of gender equality. Discreet but powerful.
