Race to the Top: Seven Candidates Vie for IOC Presidency

Seven notable candidates, including Sebastian Coe, Johan Eliasch, and Kirsty Coventry, are competing for the International Olympic Committee presidency next year. Current president Thomas Bach will step down after 12 years. The election is set for March 2025 in ancient Olympia, Greece, with the IOC currently in a strong financial position.

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 presidency election, the IOC announced on Monday.

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 the current president, Thomas Bach. The 70-year-old German is set to step down next year after 12 years at the helm. The election will be held during the IOC session in ancient Olympia, Greece, in March 2025. The IOC, which currently has 111 members, oversees the Olympic Games and the multi-billion dollar industry associated with the world's largest multi-sport event.

Bach's departure comes as the organization is in a financially strong position, having secured $7.3 billion for the years 2025-28 and an additional $6.2 billion in deals for 2029-2032. The president is elected to an eight-year first term with the possibility of a second four-year term if re-elected.

Coe, 67, joined the IOC in 2020 after a previously strained relationship due to his ban on Russian track and field athletes following the country's doping scandal. A former Olympic champion with extensive experience in the sports world, Coe led the London 2012 Games and the British Olympic Association. He is also a former Conservative Member of Parliament.

Coventry, 41, is the only woman running for president. As Zimbabwe's most decorated Olympian and a former Olympic swimming champion, she could become the first female and the first African president. Historically, all IOC presidents have been men, with eight of the nine from Europe and one from the United States.

The 62-year-old Eliasch, head of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), joined the IOC in July, and his candidacy has surprised some. Prince Feisal, 60, a member of the IOC executive board since 2010, and Samaranch, with six years of experience as vice president, bring significant IOC experience. Samaranch also headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

UCI chief Lappartient has quickly risen within the sports world after joining the IOC in 2022. The Frenchman also oversees esports within the IOC and helped secure a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia for the Olympic esports Games earlier this year.

Japanese businessman Watanabe, 65, has led the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016 and has been re-elected twice since.

(With inputs from agencies.)