As the International Olympic Committee (IOC) prepares to elect its new president on Thursday, Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch has downplayed his status as the favorite in the closely contested race. “I admire you guys very much for the capacity sometimes to predict what the result will be,” Samaranch told reporters on Wednesday. “I really don’t know.”
The presidential contest, considered one of the most open in the modern history of the IOC, is now widely seen as narrowing to three of the seven candidates: Samaranch, Sebastian Coe, and Kirsty Coventry. Coventry, a 41-year-old two-time Olympic gold medalist and the sports minister of Zimbabwe, could make history as the first woman and first African to lead the IOC in its 131 years.
“I’m biased so I’m going to say yes,” Coventry said when asked if it was time for a female president. “Let’s create some change; let’s make sure that happens.”
Samaranch emphasized the importance of confidentiality and the personal responsibility of each voter among the 109 IOC members. “Each one has to make sure that they use that important right they have to vote however they feel,” he stated, urging members to “forget about” external pressures and recommendations.
Sebastian Coe, also a two-time Olympic gold medalist, former British lawmaker, and the organizer of the 2012 London Olympics, offered brief comments amid the media frenzy. “I’m in good shape, but it’s only lunchtime,” quipped the 68-year-old president of World Athletics during a break in the first of the IOC’s three-day annual meeting.
The winner of the election will officially assume office on June 23, succeeding Thomas Bach, who reaches the maximum 12-year term limit as IOC president. As the race intensifies, the global sporting community watches closely to see who will steer the future of the Olympic movement.
