The year 2025 was marked by numerous elections. The most publicized saw Kirsty Coventry elected to succeed Thomas Bach as head of the International Olympic Committee. International federations also voted extensively to decide on their leaders for the coming years. Francs Jeux We've gone around to summarize the results for you, with a few new faces to note in badminton and archery.
Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul and Petra Sörling, two rare women in the landscape
In most federations, there was no suspense. David Lappartient, the sole candidate, was re-elected for a third term as head of the International Cycling Union in September. The same was true for Chungwon Choue, who has led World Taekwondo since 2004 and has been re-elected until 2029. Marius Vizer fared almost as well: re-elected for a sixth term, he has presided over the International Judo Federation since 2007. There were also no opponents for Shawn Tay or Mohammed Jalood, who were re-elected to head the World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF) and the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), respectively.
Also the sole candidate, Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul became the second woman to assume the presidency of the Badminton World Federation in April. She thus follows in the footsteps of pioneer Lu Shengrong, who led the BWF from 1993 to 2001. In contrast, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) offered a two-way race. Incumbent president Marco Scolaris, in office since 2007, emerged victorious against Belgian Tijl Smitz. The Italian garnered 48 votes, compared to 35 for his rival. The prize for suspense, however, goes to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), whose The Congress, which was very turbulentThis resulted in a narrow victory for Petra Sörling in May. The Swede was elected for a second term with 104 votes, just two more than Khalil Al-Mohannadi, who unsuccessfully challenged the legitimacy of the election.
Swedish Petra Sörling is one of the few women to lead an IF.
A new era for World Archery, continuity for World Rowing and the IHF
In early September, World Archery opened a new chapter after twenty years of Ugur Erdener's presidency. Having reached the term limit, he watched the contest between Greg Easton and Tom Dielen, which went decisively in favor of the American (208 votes to 96). A few weeks later, Jean-Christophe Rolland was elected for a fourth term as head of World Rowing. The Frenchman began this final term in the best possible way, receiving all 115 votes.
The International Handball Federation, for its part, prolonged the suspense by holding its congress in Cairo last weekend. Four candidates were in the running: the incumbent president Hassan Moustafa and three challengers, Franc Bobinac, Gerd Butzeck, and Tjark De Lange. Moustafa was comfortably re-elected for a seventh term with 73,3% of the vote. His reign has lasted since 2000 and will last for another four years if his health allows, the Egyptian being 81 years old.
A number of International Federations (IFs) held their elections during the last quarter of 2024. This was the case for those governing fencing, golf, gymnastics, hockey, triathlon, modern pentathlon, equestrian sports, sailing, volleyball, and rugby. Further elections will take place in 2026, particularly for the IFs governing winter sports.
