Latest news with #Bach-chaired
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A look at the seven candidates in the International Olympic Committee presidential election
COSTA NAVARINO, Greece (AP) — A look at the seven candidates in the International Olympic Committee presidential election on Thursday: Sebastian Coe The most obviously qualified candidate in the field though likely not favorite. A two-time Olympic champion runner in the 1,500 meters; led the winning bid and organizing of the 2012 London Olympics; the president for a decade of track body World Athletics; his former jobs include elected lawmaker in the British parliament and head of the British Olympic Association. World Athletics is in the front line of drafting eligibility rules designed to protect women's events, including on transgender athletes. Another signature policy was paying $50,000 prize money to track and field gold medalists at the 2024 Paris Olympics. That move, and how it was announced, annoyed outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach and also leaders of other sports. Some of those will vote Thursday. Has promised IOC members more genuine involvement in debates and decisions. And to present himself for re-election after four years instead of eight. Kirsty Coventry A two-time Olympic champion in swimming and currently the appointed sports minister of Zimbabwe. At age 41, she would be a young IOC president, also the first woman and first African leader in its 131-year history. Crucially, she has Bach's support and in her manifesto offered almost complete continuity with his policies. How active and interventionist that support has been is a major talking point. She is widely expected to lead in the first-round ballot. From 2018-21 she was athlete representative on the Bach-chaired IOC executive board. That period did little to expand athlete commercial rights now proposed by other candidates. Johan Eliasch The Swedish-born, British citizen president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation since 2021. Also the billionaire owner and former long-time CEO of the Head sportswear and equipment brand. He has been an advisor to British governments of both main political parties. A key line in his manifesto was this is 'no time for a novice." Long involved in environmental projects. As a response to the challenges of changing climate, proposes rotating the Winter Games among a group of permanent venues. Opposes paying athlete prize money from IOC revenues, and wants to ensure "only those who were born female can compete in women's sport.' If Eliasch does not win, he might soon rise to the IOC executive board. Prince Feisal al Hussein The younger brother of Jordan's King Abdullah II, Prince Feisal is the latest of his family to run for sports leadership. His sister Princess Haya was a former IOC member when president of equestrian's governing body — and like Prince Feisal, voted in Thomas Bach's 2013 win — and their brother Prince Ali was a FIFA vice president who twice ran for the top job in 2015 and 2016. 'I grew up in a family that knows all about service,' Prince Feisal said Wednesday. From a military background, he has led Jordan's Olympic body for 22 years, joined the IOC in 2010 and created a peace-promoting sports NGO. He proposes giving members more input, that athletes should be 'properly valued' and would open continental offices to decentralize the 700-strong IOC administration in Switzerland. David Lappartient The former mayor of a small town in Brittany, France, has been president of the International Cycling Union since 2017. Lappartient is a fast-rising and busy IOC member since joining just three years ago. He already oversaw, at Bach's request, preparing a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia for creating and staging video gaming Esport Olympics. It will debut in 2027. As head of the French Olympic body, he quickly pulled together an Olympics bid in 2023 leading to the French Alps hosting the 2030 Winter Games. Though he has flourished in the Bach presidency, his manifesto proposes ideas including giving members more active input, cutting the number of committees and giving the IOC Ethics Commission independence from the president's office. Aged just 51, a loss Thursday need not end his IOC leadership ambition. Juan Antonio Samaranch Samaranch turned seven in the year his father, also Juan Antonio, was first elected as an IOC member in 1966. He joined the IOC at the same 2001 meeting in Moscow where his father stood down after 21 years as president. Now at 65 comes the chance to follow his father leading the worldwide Olympic movement. Samaranch positions himself as a genuinely global figure tuned in to all political challenges the IOC presidency demands. He grew up in Franco's Spain, experienced Soviet Russia when his father was ambassador there, worked in 1980s banking and finance in the U.S. and is well connected in modern China. Samaranch was the IOC's point person preparing for the 2022 Beijing Winter Games in a pandemic lockdown that was President Xi Jinping's personal project. He has been on the IOC board for most of the past 13 years and delivered a manifesto with the most policy proposals. He wants to relax strict broadcast rules and let Olympic athletes use footage of their games performances on social media and be global influencers. Morinari Watanabe Though clearly an outsider in the IOC contest, the Japanese president of the International Gymnastics Federation had some of the most vivid ideas in his manifesto. An eye-catching rethinking of the Summer Games suggested a rolling 24-hour sports program across five continents: one city and 10 sports in each of five continents. Watanabe said this would add more sports and allow more and smaller cities to be Olympic hosts while meeting sustainability targets. He also would restructure the IOC as a House and Senate. A lower chamber of the 206 national Olympic bodies and sports governing bodies would recommend ideas for a decision-making upper chamber of up to 120 IOC members. The IOC president would have three terms of four years instead of the current initial eight year mandate followed by four years. ___ AP Olympics at
Associated Press
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
A look at the seven candidates in the International Olympic Committee presidential election
COSTA NAVARINO, Greece (AP) — A look at the seven candidates in the International Olympic Committee presidential election on Thursday: Sebastian Coe The most obviously qualified candidate in the field though likely not favorite. A two-time Olympic champion runner in the 1,500 meters; led the winning bid and organizing of the 2012 London Olympics; the president for a decade of track body World Athletics; his former jobs include elected lawmaker in the British parliament and head of the British Olympic Association. World Athletics is in the front line of drafting eligibility rules designed to protect women's events, including on transgender athletes. Another signature policy was paying $50,000 prize money to track and field gold medalists at the 2024 Paris Olympics. That move, and how it was announced, annoyed outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach and also leaders of other sports. Some of those will vote Thursday. Has promised IOC members more genuine involvement in debates and decisions. And to present himself for re-election after four years instead of eight. Kirsty Coventry A two-time Olympic champion in swimming and currently the appointed sports minister of Zimbabwe. At age 41, she would be a young IOC president, also the first woman and first African leader in its 131-year history. Crucially, she has Bach's support and in her manifesto offered almost complete continuity with his policies. How active and interventionist that support has been is a major talking point. She is widely expected to lead in the first-round ballot. From 2018-21 she was athlete representative on the Bach-chaired IOC executive board. That period did little to expand athlete commercial rights now proposed by other candidates. Johan Eliasch The Swedish-born, British citizen president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation since 2021. Also the billionaire owner and former long-time CEO of the Head sportswear and equipment brand. He has been an advisor to British governments of both main political parties. A key line in his manifesto was this is 'no time for a novice.' Long involved in environmental projects. As a response to the challenges of changing climate, proposes rotating the Winter Games among a group of permanent venues. Opposes paying athlete prize money from IOC revenues, and wants to ensure 'only those who were born female can compete in women's sport.' If Eliasch does not win, he might soon rise to the IOC executive board. Prince Feisal al Hussein The younger brother of Jordan's King Abdullah II, Prince Feisal is the latest of his family to run for sports leadership. His sister Princess Haya was a former IOC member when president of equestrian's governing body — and like Prince Feisal, voted in Thomas Bach's 2013 win — and their brother Prince Ali was a FIFA vice president who twice ran for the top job in 2015 and 2016. 'I grew up in a family that knows all about service,' Prince Feisal said Wednesday. From a military background, he has led Jordan's Olympic body for 22 years, joined the IOC in 2010 and created a peace-promoting sports NGO. He proposes giving members more input, that athletes should be 'properly valued' and would open continental offices to decentralize the 700-strong IOC administration in Switzerland. David Lappartient The former mayor of a small town in Brittany, France, has been president of the International Cycling Union since 2017. Lappartient is a fast-rising and busy IOC member since joining just three years ago. He already oversaw, at Bach's request, preparing a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia for creating and staging video gaming Esport Olympics. It will debut in 2027. As head of the French Olympic body, he quickly pulled together an Olympics bid in 2023 leading to the French Alps hosting the 2030 Winter Games. Though he has flourished in the Bach presidency, his manifesto proposes ideas including giving members more active input, cutting the number of committees and giving the IOC Ethics Commission independence from the president's office. Aged just 51, a loss Thursday need not end his IOC leadership ambition. Juan Antonio Samaranch Samaranch turned seven in the year his father, also Juan Antonio, was first elected as an IOC member in 1966. He joined the IOC at the same 2001 meeting in Moscow where his father stood down after 21 years as president. Now at 65 comes the chance to follow his father leading the worldwide Olympic movement. Samaranch positions himself as a genuinely global figure tuned in to all political challenges the IOC presidency demands. He grew up in Franco's Spain, experienced Soviet Russia when his father was ambassador there, worked in 1980s banking and finance in the U.S. and is well connected in modern China. Samaranch was the IOC's point person preparing for the 2022 Beijing Winter Games in a pandemic lockdown that was President Xi Jinping's personal project. He has been on the IOC board for most of the past 13 years and delivered a manifesto with the most policy proposals. He wants to relax strict broadcast rules and let Olympic athletes use footage of their games performances on social media and be global influencers. Morinari Watanabe Though clearly an outsider in the IOC contest, the Japanese president of the International Gymnastics Federation had some of the most vivid ideas in his manifesto. An eye-catching rethinking of the Summer Games suggested a rolling 24-hour sports program across five continents: one city and 10 sports in each of five continents. Watanabe said this would add more sports and allow more and smaller cities to be Olympic hosts while meeting sustainability targets. He also would restructure the IOC as a House and Senate. A lower chamber of the 206 national Olympic bodies and sports governing bodies would recommend ideas for a decision-making upper chamber of up to 120 IOC members. The IOC president would have three terms of four years instead of the current initial eight year mandate followed by four years. ___
Arab News
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Going for gold: A look at the political and sporting challenges facing the next IOC president
COSTA NAVARINO, Greece: An in tray of Olympic challenges spanning political, social, sporting and operational issues awaits the next IOC president who will be elected Thursday. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Seven candidates are competing in the first contested International Olympic Committee election since 2013 to replace Thomas Bach, who formally leaves office in June after the mandated maximum of 12 years. They include two Olympic gold medalists, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry, and the son of a former IOC president, Juan Antonio Samaranch. Four are presidents of Olympic sports bodies, including Johan Eliasch from skiing, David Lappartient from cycling, and Morinari Watanabe from gymnastics. Coe also leads track's World Athletics, organized the 2012 London Olympics and is widely viewed as the most qualified candidate. Three are members of the Bach-chaired IOC executive board that meets Monday: Samaranch, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan and Coventry, the sports minister of Zimbabwe who would be the first woman leader in the IOC's 131-year history. Coventry is seen as Bach's preferred choice to be elected by about 100 IOC members invited into an exclusive club from royal families, international politics and business, sports officials plus past and current athletes. Here's a look at some of the issues facing them: The US The Summer Games is the foundation of the Olympic movement, where each of the 207 officially recognized teams competes. Fewer than 100 countries participate at the Winter Games. For the IOC, bringing the world's athletes together in the Olympic village is a powerful symbol of political neutrality and promoting peace. The next Summer Games is in Los Angeles in 2028, in the final months of President Donald Trump's second term. As the host nation head of state, he should help formally open the games at a July 14 ceremony likely drawing the biggest global audience for any broadcast in 2028. A challenge until then is protecting what the IOC calls Olympic values, including gender equality and universal inclusion. American relations this year with long-time allies like Canada, Ukraine, Denmark and Germany has cast doubt on how much warmth there will be for the US as a welcoming host in 2028. The federal government's limited operational role for the Olympics includes security and border issues, including visas. A test of those plans will be the US co-hosting the 2026 World Cup in men's soccer with Canada and Mexico. Iran should be among the first teams to qualify next week. The next IOC president will need nimble diplomatic skills, balanced with close ties to the Democratic-leaning local organizing committee, city of LA and state of California. Global politics The IOC has been closely aligned with the United Nations and the multilateral rules-based order shaping the world for 80 years. That is under pressure, from the US and elsewhere. When and how to reintegrate Russia in the Olympic family is pressing. If these can seem uniquely challenging times, Coe noted his career as a track champion at Moscow in 1980 and LA in 1984 was an Olympic era of Cold War boycotts and exclusion for apartheid-era South Africa. 'They always have been (navigable) in the past,' Coe said of the pending diplomatic turmoil. Equality for women Gender equality has been a key policy of the Bach presidency: Equal quotas of men and women athletes, higher profile scheduling of women's events, men and women flag bearers for each team, more women members of the IOC. Coventry is just the second female presidential candidate in the IOC's 131-year history and the first with a chance to win. Gender eligibility in Olympic sports is now a hot-button issue, fueled further by President Trump's executive order on transgender athletes in the US and promises to pressure the IOC, and coming after the furor and disinformation around women's boxing in Paris last year. The IOC had some responsibility for women's boxing arriving in Paris with what seemed outdated eligibility rules. Those could be reviewed before 2028. Stricter rules on transgender athletes — barring from women's events anyone who went through male puberty — already were passed before Paris by swimming, cycling led by Lappartient and track and field led by Coe. Some candidates in Thursday's election, including Coe, Samaranch and Eliasch have urged the IOC to take a clearer policy lead. 2036 Olympics host The new president's eight-year mandate runs through 2033 and all games hosts in that time are already picked. Even 2034 is decided for the Salt Lake City Winter Games and 2038 looks destined for Switzerland. The next big decision is the 2036 Summer Games with high-level lobbying under way by countries like India and Qatar. Doha would perhaps anchor a regional project with neighboring Gulf states. There is no set timetable for a decision in the new, flexible and more opaque process designed by Bach which largely cuts members out of decisions, but limits the risk of vote-buying. Climate change The 2036 Olympics seem likely to move from the July-August period the Summer Games has occupied since the 2004 Athens Olympics. It can be a catalyst for a wide review of the global sports calendar amid rising temperatures and extreme weather. With fewer options to find Winter Games hosts, Eliasch proposes in his manifesto to rotate among a select group of permanent venues. Engaging athletes Olympic athletes could be winners in the election. Coe's World Athletics broke an IOC taboo by paying $50,000 to track and field gold medalists in Paris, and promises payments for silver and bronze in LA. Samaranch wants to give athletes control of video of their Olympic performances currently denied to protect broadcasters' exclusivity. Athletes have long objected to the strict drafting of Olympic Charter Rule 40 that limits their commercial options at the games. Coventry is the most recent Olympic athlete, swimming at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, and was their representative on the IOC executive board from 2018-21. Her manifesto offers no new benefits but supports the established Athlete 365 program helping prepare for their next careers. Engaging voters A theme for some candidates is that voters Thursday want more input and active involvement in the IOC's work. Bach's management style is widely seen as controlling. Lappartient called for more debating instead of just listening; Coe said 'I don't micro-manage'; Prince Feisal suggested unanimous votes that are routine 'means there's something wrong.' Samaranch offers members more say in selecting Olympic hosts. The members' age limit could rise five years to 75. Coe even would let members vote in just four years, not eight, whether to re-elect him.
The Independent
16-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Going for gold: A look at the political and sporting challenges facing the next IOC president
An in tray of Olympic challenges spanning political, social, sporting and operational issues awaits the next IOC president who will be elected Thursday. Seven candidates are competing in the first contested International Olympic Committee election since 2013 to replace Thomas Bach, who formally leaves office in June after the mandated maximum of 12 years. They include two Olympic gold medalists, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry, and the son of a former IOC president, Juan Antonio Samaranch. Four are presidents of Olympic sports bodies, including Johan Eliasch from skiing, David Lappartient from cycling, and Morinari Watanabe from gymnastics. Coe also leads track's World Athletics, organized the 2012 London Olympics and is widely viewed as the most qualified candidate. Three are members of the Bach-chaired IOC executive board that meets Monday: Samaranch, Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan and Coventry, the sports minister of Zimbabwe who would be the first woman leader in the IOC's 131-year history. Coventry is seen as Bach's preferred choice to be elected by about 100 IOC members invited into an exclusive club from royal families, international politics and business, sports officials plus past and current athletes. Here's a look at some of the issues facing them: The United States The Summer Games is the foundation of the Olympic movement, where each of the 207 officially recognized teams competes. Fewer than 100 countries participate at the Winter Games. For the IOC, bringing the world's athletes together in the Olympic village is a powerful symbol of political neutrality and promoting peace. The next Summer Games is in Los Angeles in 2028, in the final months of President Donald Trump 's second term. As the host nation head of state, he should help formally open the games at a July 14 ceremony likely drawing the biggest global audience for any broadcast in 2028. A challenge until then is protecting what the IOC calls Olympic values, including gender equality and universal inclusion. American relations this year with long-time allies like Canada, Ukraine, Denmark and Germany has cast doubt on how much warmth there will be for the U.S. as a welcoming host in 2028. The federal government's limited operational role for the Olympics includes security and border issues, including visas. A test of those plans will be the U.S. co-hosting the 2026 World Cup in men's soccer with Canada and Mexico. Iran should be among the first teams to qualify next week. The next IOC president will need nimble diplomatic skills, balanced with close ties to the Democratic-leaning local organizing committee, city of LA and state of California. Global politics The IOC has been closely aligned with the United Nations and the multilateral rules-based order shaping the world for 80 years. That is under pressure, from the U.S. and elsewhere. When and how to reintegrate Russia in the Olympic family is pressing. If these can seem uniquely challenging times, Coe noted his career as a track champion at Moscow in 1980 and LA in 1984 was an Olympic era of Cold War boycotts and exclusion for apartheid-era South Africa. 'They always have been (navigable) in the past,' Coe said of the pending diplomatic turmoil. Equality for women Gender equality has been a key policy of the Bach presidency: Equal quotas of men and women athletes, higher profile scheduling of women's events, men and women flag bearers for each team, more women members of the IOC. Coventry is just the second female presidential candidate in the IOC's 131-year history and the first with a chance to win. Gender eligibility in Olympic sports is now a hot-button issue, fueled further by President Trump's executive order on transgender athletes in the U.S. and promises to pressure the IOC, and coming after the furor and disinformation around women's boxing in Paris last year. The IOC had some responsibility for women's boxing arriving in Paris with what seemed outdated eligibility rules. Those could be reviewed before 2028. Stricter rules on transgender athletes — barring from women's events anyone who went through male puberty — already were passed before Paris by swimming, cycling led by Lappartient and track and field led by Coe. Some candidates in Thursday's election, including Coe, Samaranch and Eliasch have urged the IOC to take a clearer policy lead. 2036 Olympics host The new president's eight-year mandate runs through 2033 and all games hosts in that time are already picked. Even 2034 is decided for the Salt Lake City Winter Games and 2038 looks destined for Switzerland. The next big decision is the 2036 Summer Games with high-level lobbying under way by countries like India and Qatar. Doha would perhaps anchor a regional project with neighboring Gulf states. There is no set timetable for a decision in the new, flexible and more opaque process designed by Bach which largely cuts members out of decisions, but limits the risk of vote-buying. Climate change The 2036 Olympics seem likely to move from the July-August period the Summer Games has occupied since the 2004 Athens Olympics. It can be a catalyst for a wide review of the global sports calendar amid rising temperatures and extreme weather. With fewer options to find Winter Games hosts, Eliasch proposes in his manifesto to rotate among a select group of permanent venues. Engaging athletes Olympic athletes could be winners in the election. Coe's World Athletics broke an IOC taboo by paying $50,000 to track and field gold medalists in Paris, and promises payments for silver and bronze in LA. Samaranch wants to give athletes control of video of their Olympic performances currently denied to protect broadcasters' exclusivity. Athletes have long objected to the strict drafting of Olympic Charter Rule 40 that limits their commercial options at the games. Coventry is the most recent Olympic athlete, swimming at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, and was their representative on the IOC executive board from 2018-21. Her manifesto offers no new benefits but supports the established Athlete 365 program helping prepare for their next careers. Engaging voters A theme for some candidates is that voters Thursday want more input and active involvement in the IOC's work. Bach's management style is widely seen as controlling. Lappartient called for more debating instead of just listening; Coe said 'I don't micro-manage"; Prince Feisal suggested unanimous votes that are routine 'means there's something wrong.' Samaranch offers members more say in selecting Olympic hosts. The members' age limit could rise five years to 75. Coe even would let members vote in just four years, not eight, whether to re-elect him. ___
CBC
30-01-2025
- Politics
- CBC
IOC presidential candidates pitch to Olympic voters in quirky closed-door event
Behind closed doors in Lausanne, seven candidates hoping to lead the International Olympic Committee made key pitches on Thursday to about 100 voters in perhaps the most elusive and opaque election in world sports. The only set-piece campaign event before the March 20 poll in Greece let each candidate speak for 15 minutes only to IOC members who include royal family members and former heads of government plus sports officials and former athletes. The speeches were not broadcast and the audience could not take phones or devices into the room. Nor could voters ask questions of their seven colleagues competing for perhaps the most influential job in sports, and one that increasingly has a role in real world politics. It is a quirky process set by the IOC to decide its first contested presidential election since 2013, and to find a successor for Thomas Bach who has reached the limit of 12 years in office. "If I was the president I think I'd be a little more flexible," said Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan during a 10-minute news conference each candidate was allowed at IOC headquarters. "The world has a right to know who is running and what they stand for." The candidates also include two Olympic gold medallists, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry, and the son of a former IOC president, Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. Four are presidents of Olympic sports bodies: Johan Eliasch from skiing, David Lappartient from cycling, and Morinari Watanabe from gymnastics. Coe also leads World Athletics, organized the 2012 London Olympics, and is widely viewed as the most qualified candidate. Three are members of the Bach-chaired IOC executive board: Samaranch, Prince Feisal and Coventry, the sports minister of Zimbabwe who would be the first woman to lead the Olympic movement in its 130-year history. She has been regarded as Bach's preferred choice. "I think he's being very fair to all of us," Coventry said when asked about the perception that she is favoured by the sitting president. This week she had said "I don't feel that he [Bach] is out campaigning for me." Bach is likely not to use his right to vote alongside the eclectic mix of invitees to become IOC members, who currently number 110. They also include diplomats, industrialists and Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh. Few details were known about the mood of IOC members. "I felt very good in the room," said Samaranch, adding it was "an impossible question" to know how his time on stage compared to others. The winner on March 20 will formally take office in June after a three-month transition period with Bach, a German lawyer and 1976 Olympics gold medallist in fencing whose presidential style is widely seen as micro-managing. "The appetite for change is stronger than I thought it probably would be," Coe said this week. He and Samaranch have promised to give back decision-making roles to members including more choice to pick Olympic host cities. The next IOC president will have a diplomatic role working with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Key challenges ahead include the impact of climate change on the global sports calendar, gender issues in sports, when and how to bring Russia back fully into the Olympic Games, and signing a new U.S. broadcast deal. Long-time partner NBC's deal expires after the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and has been a foundation of Olympic revenue, which was $7.6 billion in the 2021-24 Olympic cycle. The IOC is looking toward picking a host for the 2036 Olympics, with India and Qatar in the mix, that could require moving the Summer Games from its established July-August place. Perhaps the most eye-catching new proposal is from Watanabe, for future Summer Games to be a rolling, 24-hour production with 10 sports in each of five countries, one from each continent. "In my opinion many people want revolution," said the Japanese candidate, who is a likely outsider in the race, "they are waiting for innovation."
