Here we are. In a few hours, the International Olympic Committee will elect its tenth president. Seven candidates are vying to succeed Thomas Bach: Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., Johan Eliasch, Kirsty Coventry, Sebastian Coe, David Lappartient, Morinari Watanabe, and Prince Feisal. Who will be best equipped to meet the geopolitical, climate, digital, and economic challenges? The choice made by the IOC members will be decisive for the next eight years and beyond.
Election, instructions for use
The second day of the 144th IOC Session will open at 9 a.m. at Costa Navarino. It will begin with a review of the activity reports of the Coordination Commissions and Organizing Committees for Gangwon 2024, Milan-Cortina 2026, Dakar 2026, Los Angeles 2028, French Alps 2030, Brisbane 2032, and Salt Lake City 2034. The election process for the IOC President is scheduled to begin at 16 p.m. Don't expect a live broadcast: the doors will be closed. The vote will be secret, and the candidate with the fewest votes in each round will be eliminated, until one of them obtains an absolute majority of votes.
Before each round, the IOC Director General will announce the names of the members who will not participate in the vote, in accordance with the Olympic Charter: a candidate's compatriots will not be able to take part in the vote while the candidate is still in the race. At the end of each round, if no candidate has obtained an absolute majority, only the name of the eliminated candidate will be announced, without disclosing the details of the votes. The doors of the Great Hall will only open once the process is complete, to announce to the world the name of the elected candidate. The winner will begin his eight-year term on June 24 and will hold a press conference approximately one hour after the results are announced.
Towards a four-way match?
Four candidates seem to be emerging. Former swimmer Kirsty Coventry (41) has the advantage of youth—which can also be seen as a lack of experience—and her Olympian CV—which should reassure us about the importance she will give to athletes. The profile of Zimbabwe's Minister of Sports may also further emphasize the universality of the Olympic movement, since no African representative has ever headed the IOC. She is reportedly favored by Thomas Bach, although the German declined to comment. Sebastian Coe (68) ticks many boxes, having been an athlete, a member of parliament, president of the London 2012, and heads an international federation, World Athletics. He has also received support from several leading athletics figures: Armand Duplantis publicly encouraged him, just like Usain Bolt, who believes his vision is "what is necessary for the future of the Olympic movement", or Mo Farah, who sees in him "a great leader and the ideal person to be the next IOC President".The Briton, however, was able to irritate some, with his idea of bonuses for Olympic champions or his criticism of the functioning of the body.
Experience is also on the side of Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr (65 years old), whose father led the IOC from 1980 to 2001. The Barcelona native knows the IOC inside out since he joined the body in 2001, was part of the Executive Board (2012-2016) and held the role of Vice-President from 2016 to 2020, before returning to it in 2022. A longevity that could weigh on the outcome of the vote since according to Jean-Loup Chappelet, "as in other elections, we vote for people we know, those with whom we have common ground". David Lappartient, finally, has a card to play with his dual role as president of the International Cycling Union and the French National Olympic and Sports Committee. The Breton, an IOC member since 2022, is one of the architects of the first allocation of the Road World Championships to Africa, more precisely to Rwanda. A big plus in terms of universality. He has assured that he would abandon all his mandates if he were chosen, wishing to concentrate 100% on his task.Who will be the lucky winner? Place your bets!
