IOC sets January date for seven presidential candidates to woo Olympic voters

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The International Olympic Committee has set a Jan. 30 date for the key presidential election meeting where seven candidates will meet with voters ahead of their ballot in March.

The closed-doors meeting at IOC headquarters is the only set-piece campaign event in perhaps the most discreet and secretive election in world sports. IOC rules prohibit candidates from publishing videos, organizing public meetings or taking part in public debates.

“This in-camera meeting will give the IOC members the opportunity to hear from the seven candidates about their programs,” the Olympic body said in a statement on Thursday.

The candidates to replace outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach include three members of the executive board he chairs: vice president Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. of Spain, Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan and Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe.

The other four are presidents of Olympic sports governing bodies: track and field’s Sebastian Coe of Britain; cycling’s David Lappartient from France; gymnastics leader Morinari Watanabe of Japan; and skiing’s Johan Eliasch, a Swedish-British citizen.

FILE – IOC member and former swimmer Kirsty Coventry smiles on the arrival for a press conference after the executive board meeting of the IOC, at the Olympic House, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP, File)

The vote by about 100 of their fellow IOC members — including European and Middle East royalty, sports officials, former and current Olympic athletes, politicians and billionaire industrialists — is at a March 18-21 meeting near Ancient Olympia in Greece.

Bach is reaching his statutory maximum of 12 years in office and confirmed in August at the Paris Olympics that he will leave. His scheduled exit is in June after a three-month transition period with his successor.

He has long been viewed as favoring Coventry, the sports minister in Zimbabwe, who would be the first woman president in the IOC’s 130-year history and the first from Africa. A two-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, Coventry was surprisingly the only woman candidate to enter the contest.

The IOC top job ideally calls for deep knowledge of managing sports, understanding athletes’ needs and nimble skills in global politics.

Key questions for the next IOC leader include picking a host for the 2036 Olympics — which has India and Qatar among the contenders — assessing the impact of climate change on the global sports calendar and the Winter Games, gender issues, and renewing the United States broadcast deal that has been a foundation of Olympic finances.