The battle for the most powerful job in world sport is hurtling toward its climax as International Olympic Committee members descend on Greece this week to crown a new president.
With Thomas Bach’s reign nearing its final curtain, all seven contenders are making their last plays, hoping they´ve done enough to land the ultimate prize.
Bach is stepping down after 12 years in charge, and his potential successor will need a majority of the 100-odd IOC votes on Thursday to claim victory.
The candidates are international cycling chief David Lappartient, current IOC vice-president Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe, multiple Olympic swimming champion Kirsty Coventry, who is Zimbabwe’s sports minister, and Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan.
International Gymnastics Federation head Morinari Watanabe and Olympic newcomer and multimillionaire Johan Eliasch, who heads the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, complete the list of candidates.
The winner of Thursday’s vote, held in a seaside resort near the southern Greek town of Pylos, will shape world sport along with international sports federations, national Olympic committees and the IOC’s top sponsors.
The next IOC president must also immediately tackle a number of issues to secure continued success of the Olympic Games, the main product of the multi-billion dollar IOC operation.
Among them are the establishment of clear competition rules for transgender athletes, an issue that could potentially create friction with the US government, after President Donald Trump excluded transgender athletes from competitions last month.
The IOC currently allows transgender athletes to take part in the Games but it is under pressure to come up with a universal rule instead of relying on each separate sports federation’s decisions.
The relationship with Trump will also prove crucial for the Los Angeles 2028 summer Olympics. All candidates have highlighted the support of the Games from Trump with Lappartient saying the IOC would also need to secure its autonomy.
The new president will also need to deal with the issue of Russia, whose Olympic committee has been banned for violating the Olympic Charter in relation to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Some of its athletes competed as neutrals at last year’s Paris Olympics.
Bach’s departure comes with the organisation in a financially robust position, having secured $7.3 billion from media rights, sponsorship and other revenue streams for 2025-28 and $6.2 billion in contracts for 2029-2032.
Last week the IOC also announced a $3.0 billion extension of NBCUniversal’s US Olympic media rights until 2036, but the departure of several sponsors last year has seen calls for changes to its marketing structure.
In order to land the job the candidates will go through several rounds of voting with a majority unlikely for any in the first rounds.