IOC presidential candidates pitch to exclusive club of Olympic voters at closed-door event

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Behind closed doors on Thursday, seven candidates hoping to lead the International Olympic Committee are making key pitches to an exclusive club of more than 100 voters.

The only set-piece campaign event before the March 20 election in Greece lets each candidate make a 15-minute presentation that will not be broadcast and is open only to IOC members.

Those voters also are barred from asking 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 an opaque and quirky process to decide the first contested IOC presidential election since 2013, succeeding Thomas Bach who has reached the limit of 12 years in office.

The candidates include two Olympic gold medalists, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry; the son of a former IOC president, Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr; and a member of the royal family of Jordan, Prince Feisal al Hussein.

Four are presidents of Olympic sports bodies: Johan Eliasch from skiing, David Lappartient from cycling, and Morinari Watanabe from gymnastics. Coe also leads track and field'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: 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.

Their voters are an eclectic mix of invitees to join the exclusive club of IOC members, who currently number 110.

They include Asian and European royalty — such as the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani — leaders of international sports bodies, former and current Olympic athletes, politicians, diplomats, industrialists and an Oscar-winning actress, Michelle Yeoh.

The winner on March 20 will formally take office in June after a three-month transition period with Bach.

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.

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