Sebastian Coe speaks during a press conference ahead of the World Indoor Athletics Championships at Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, February 29, 2024. /CFP
World athletics chief Sebastian Coe, multi-millionaire and Olympic newcomer Johan Eliasch, and Zimbabwe's Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry are among seven candidates for next year's International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency election, according to the IOC.
IOC Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch, son of the late former IOC president, international cycling chief David Lappartient, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan and international gymnastics federation head Morinari Watanabe are also in the running to succeed current president Thomas Bach. The 70-year-old German is stepping down next year after 12 years at the helm.
The election will be held at the IOC session in ancient Olympia, Greece in March. The candidates will all present their programs, behind closed doors, to the full IOC membership in January. The IOC, with 111 members currently, is in charge of the Olympic Games and the multi-billion dollar industry linked to the world's biggest multi-sports event.
The 67-year old Coe joined the IOC in 2020 after a rocky relationship between World Athletics. A former Olympic champion with a wealth of experience in the sports world, Coe was previously head of the London 2012 Games and the British Olympic Association.
Kirsty Coventry speaks to media during a Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games media briefing in Sydney, Australia, May 1, 2022. /CFP
Coventry, 41, is the only woman running for president and a former Olympic swimming champion, who is Zimbabwe's most decorated Olympian, could become not only the first female president but also the first from Africa.