In late March the International Olympic Committee will elect a new president as Thomas Bach’s reign comes to an end. Seven committee members are running as candidates. But who will get enough votes to take the top job?
Great Britain, Sebastian Coe +150
Sebastian Coe is a track and field British legend winning two gold medals in the 1500m back in 1980 and 1984. He is the current president of World Athletics, and was a Conservative Party lawmaker for five years and helped bring the Summer Games to London in 2012. He has shown strong leadership in imposing a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Paris Games due to the invasion of Ukraine. He is experienced enough to take the role but the IOC has an age limit of 70. Coe is 68 years old. But if he did win, he could receive a special exemption to complete the full 8-year term.
Jordan, Prince Faisal al-Hussein +400
Prince Faisal al-Hussein is the younger brother of King Abdullah II and will try to become the first Asian president. In 2007, he organized Generations For Peace, a non-profit peace-building organisation. In 2010, he became an IOC member and is on the Executive Board and has chaired a couple of committees. Prince Faisal has gone on record saying “the full potential of the IOC membership is not being utilised” and says if elected he will make sure the entire membership’s voices are heard.
France, David Lappartient +500
In his three years as an IOC member, David Lappartient has helped France win the bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and helped oversee a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia to create the Esports Olympic Games. He would like to revamp many things including cutting the number of committees to improve efficiency. He wants more athlete members, now capped at 15 out of a maximum 115. One thing he isn’t a fan of is the IOC paying prize money. Lappartient also aims to take the Olympics to Africa, and create high performance centers for athletes on every continent.
Britain-Sweden, Johan Eliasch +800
He is the International Ski and Snowboard Federation president and an IOC member since July. But Johan Eliasch brings decades of leadership not only in sports but business as well, as he owns the tennis and ski brand Head. He also opposes the IOC paying prize money to athletes, and plans to shape gender policy, saying those born a female can compete in women’s sports. He’s a A long-time environmentalist, and proposes rotating the Winter Games among a group of permanent venues. He is currently the longest shot to be elected.
