The highlight of the campaign took place on Thursday morning in Lausanne. The seven candidates for the post of president of the International Olympic Committee appeared in turn before the members of the body to present their project for fifteen minutes, to try to convince. This was followed by a press briefing which allowed everyone to debrief and hammer home the strong ideas of their respective programs. FrancsJeux sums up this morning, which was probably the peak of the campaign.
Position yourself as a leader
One word came up again and again in the mouths of most of the candidates when they presented themselves to the journalists: leadership. David Lappartient thus assured that being president of the IOC was "above all a question of leadership"Prince Feisal Al Hussein particularly emphasized this, citing all the years he dedicated to military service to enhance his stature. "It takes much more courage to do what is right than to do what is popular.", he stressed, citing his father, the former king of Jordan. The Prince said he was ready to “facing obstacles and making difficult decisions” to build “a path to a more inclusive, equitable and inspiring future for the Olympic Movement”.
Johan Eliasch highlighted his multiple experiences in the business world (he founded an investment group, Equity Partners, in 1991), within sports institutions (he has headed the FIS since 2021), and his environmental commitment via the NGO Cool Earth. He thus called for the election to crown "the most qualified person" and that it is not limited to "not a popularity contest"The Swede plans to draw on his business knowledge to "adapting to constant changes » from the sponsorship world and offer real added value to partner companies after Toyota, Panasonic and Bridgestone decided to leave the IOC. A similar strategy for Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., who recalled his long experience within the Olympic movement and the success of the company he founded in the financial industry, “still present on three continents”. A profile that he considers coherent to boost the "commercial engine" of the IOC.
Ride youth
The attractiveness of the Games for young people was also at the heart of the presentations. Sebastian Coe spoke about this, as did Prince Feisal, who intends to emphasise integrity for “regaining confidence and this feeling of relevance among young people”The Jordanian candidate would like " to engage the world's youth beyond the Olympic Games period, throughout the quadrennial period » to keep the flame alive. For Kirsty Coventry, attracting new generations will be done via the telephone. She sees it as "their starting point to connect with us », and "the possibility for us to connect with them ». The former swimmer is banking on the development of streaming in this perspective.
Since it was a question of standing out, David Lappartient recalled his desire to see the Olympic Games on the African continent: "The Olympic Games must also come to Africa. I have not set a deadline, but the idea is that there should be an allocation within the duration of the president's mandate, eight years, potentially renewable once. Africa deserves them." Prince Feisal expressed his wish to "explore the flexibility of the dates of the Olympic Games calendar", but the most revolutionary was still Morinari Watanabe with his plan to hold the Olympic Games on five continents at the same time. "This will allow the IOC to offer the best possible conditions for each sport and for the athletes, to reduce the financial burden for the host countries and to open up more commercial opportunities", he argues.
Kirsty Coventry, often presented as Thomas Bach's candidate, highlighted her unique journey as a former athlete, guided by her Olympic dream since her childhood in Zimbabwe. Athletes are at the heart of her vision: among her ideas, the establishment of programs to better support athletes and help them finance their project, even before they reach the Olympic Games. Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., for his part, declared his intention to "Refocusing media relations", in whom he does not see "not enemies", implying more transparency. "If I become IOC President, I will have this in mind, you can count on me"he assured.
The art of dodging
Hot topics inevitably came up in the question and answer session with the press. Several candidates were asked about the reinstatement of Russian athletes. Johan Eliasch wants to apply to the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games the scheme established for the Paris 2024 Games. "In the current circumstances, the athlete neutrality program has worked well in Paris. No athlete can choose their place of birth.", he recalled. David Lappartient was also invited to clarify his position. If he judges that Russia "has a vocation, in the long term, to return to the Olympic family", he believes that it is not yet on the agenda. "These issues must be resolved before decisions can be made.", he warned in reference to the violation of the Olympic truce and the integration of Ukrainian territories into the statutes of the ROC. Prince Feisal did not want to get involved in the standoff between the United States and the WADA, whose work and efficiency he praised. No risk either on the vagueness surrounding the Olympic future of boxing, a file where he follows the position of the IOC: he "would love" see boxing on the program in Los Angeles, but insists on the capacity of an international federation to "accept responsibility" after the IBA was banned.
Kirsty Coventry was also jostled in the ring. She was part of the committee that validated the participation of Lin Yu-ting and Imane Khelif in the Paris 2024 Games while the IBA, based on a gender test, had disqualified the two boxers from the 2023 World Championships. Faced with controversies, the press invited her to explain herself. "It's a complicated subject. Maybe we would handle things differently if we went back.", she replied, pointing out that the problem had not arisen before – Lin and Khelif had boxed at the 2020 Olympics, without raising such controversy. “As an athlete, you want to be on a level playing field. Our job is to create that environment. We will learn from this and implement better regulations over time.”, promised the candidate. Convincing? We will know in March.
