The campaign for the election of the IOC president has not yet really begun. True, the body revealed last month the list of seven candidates, six men and one woman, competing to succeed Thomas Bach. It created a dedicated page on its official website. And announced that the grand oral of the candidates would be held on January 30 in Lausanne, during an extraordinary session.
For the rest, calm reigns. And, with it, a certain boredom. Let's be honest, nothing is happening.
Patience, then. But one of the seven candidates will play big, and even very big, this Friday, October 25. Morinari Watanabe, the president of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), is putting his mandate back into play on the occasion of the 85th congress of the body. Opened Wednesday, October 24 in Doha, it will end Saturday. Friday is dominated by a salvo of elections to renew the governance of the FIG. At the top of the list, the presidency.
Not so common in the Olympic movement: Morinari Watanabe is not alone in the running. The Japanese, first elected in January 2017 to succeed the Italian Bruno Grandi, faces a rival, the same as for the previous election in 2021: Farid Gayibov, the president of the European Gymnastics Union (UEG), who is also the Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan.
Four years earlier, Morinari Watanabe had won without much suspense. The Japanese had obtained 81 votes, against 47 for his European rival. Nothing to say.
This time, the election for the presidency of the FIG has a double stake. In the event of defeat, unlikely but still possible, Morinari Watanabe would have to renounce his status as an IOC member. The Japanese, elected in 2018 during the Buenos Aires session organized on the sidelines of the Youth Games, owes his membership status to his position as president of an international federation.
If he were to be defeated, Morinari Watanabe would lose his cap as an IOC member. He would be forced to give up his candidacy to succeed Thomas Bach. The race would go from seven to six candidates.
Another election, with a less vast stake but still very important in the run-up to the Los Angeles 2028 Games: the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) has unveiled the list of candidates for its executive committee. It does not predict any suspense, since the applicants are, for the most part, the only ones in the race.
Frenchman Pierre Trochet, 38, in office since December 2021, will be re-elected as president of the body at the elective congress on December 7 in Lausanne. He has no rival for the top post.
Canadian James Mullin is also assured of being elected vice-president, being also alone in the race. Same victory in sight for the American Eric Mayes, sole applicant for the position of Secretary General.
With less than four years to go until the Los Angeles 2028 Games, where flag football will make its Olympic debut as an additional sport, IFAF is opting for continuity. This is certainly the best strategy.
