Seven candidates are competing for one of the biggest and best jobs in world sports that traditionally becomes available only every 12 years.
The International Olympic Committee announced on Monday which of its members in a most exclusive and discreet club have entered the race to be its next president. The election by secret ballot is in March.
The winner will replace Thomas Bach, a German lawyer who steps down in June upon reaching the maximum 12 years in office.
The 10th IOC president could be its first female leader, or its first from Africa or Asia. Or even its first from Britain.
They will take over a financially stable organization that demands deft skills in the challenging arenas of sports and real-world politics.
Who are the candidates?
- Prince Feisal al Hussein, an IOC member since 2010, on its executive board since 2019. Founder of the Generations for Peace sports charity. His older brother is King Abdullah II of Jordan.
- Sebastian Coe, IOC member since 2020. President of World Athletics since 2015. Olympic champion in men's 1,500 meters in 1980 and 1984. Elected lawmaker in British Parliament from 1992 to 1997. Led the 2012 London Olympics organizing committee.
- Kirsty Coventry, IOC member since 2013, on executive board for a second time since 2023. Olympic champion in women's 200-meter backstroke in 2004 and 2008. Appointed sports minister in Zimbabwe government since 2018. Chairs IOC panel overseeing the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
- Johan Eliasch, IOC member since August. President of International Ski and Snowboard Federation since 2021. Owner of Head sports equipment brand, CEO until 2021. Swedish-British citizen.
- David Lappartient, IOC member since 2022. President of International Cycling Union since 2017. President of France's Olympic committee and leader of French Alps bid that will host 2030 Winter Games. Chair of IOC esports panel that steered the Esports Olympic Games to Saudi Arabia.
- Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., IOC member since 2001, vice president since 2022, and member of the executive board from 2012 to 2020. Founder of a Spain-based investment bank. Created Samaranch Foundation to promote the Olympics in China in honor of his father, who was IOC president from 1980 to 2001.
- Morinari Watanabe, IOC member since 2018. Japanese president of the International Gymnastics Federation since 2017.
When is the election and who votes?
The IOC election meeting is on March 18-21 at a resort hotel in Greece, near the site of Ancient Olympia.
Candidates and their compatriots cannot vote, leaving about 95 eligible to take part in March. Among them, members of European and Asian royal families, including the Emir of Qatar; diplomats and lawmakers, including a former president of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović; businesspeople, including Nita Ambani, whose husband is India's richest man; leaders of sports bodies; current and former Olympic athletes.
What is the IOC president's job?
It's an executive role running a not-for-profit organization that employs hundreds of staff at a modern lakeside headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The IOC earns several billion dollars in revenue every four years from selling broadcasting and sponsor rights for the Summer Games and Winter Games.
Most of the money is distributed to the Olympic family: organizers of upcoming Games, including youth editions, governing bodies of Olympic sports, more than 200 national Olympic bodies, scholarships for potential Olympic athletes and special projects.
The job ideally calls for a deep knowledge of managing sports, understanding athletes' needs and political skills.
How long can IOC presidents stay in the job?
A maximum of 12 years, with a first term of eight years and the chance for one re-election for a further four.
However, the IOC has an age limit of 70 and complex rules around membership status. It means some of the seven candidates could have to seek a special exemption while in office to complete a full eight-year mandate.
What are the challenges and big decisions ahead?
- Picking a host for the 2036 Summer Games, with India and Qatar as strong contenders.
- Renewing the United States broadcast deal that has typically underwritten Olympic finances. Bach moved quickly in 2014 to renew NBC's deal through 2032. The next deal starts with the 2034 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
- Both decisions factor into wider questions in regard to drafting the global sports calendar. July-August has been the optimal Summer Games slot since 2004. But a 2036 Doha Olympics could not be held in those months, and where could Games be comfortably held after another decade of climate change?
- When and how can Russia be reintegrated fully into international sports with no end to its invasion of Ukraine in sight? Coe's world track and field body currently excludes Russian athletes entirely.
