The race to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee looks set to be the most competitive in history, with a record seven candidates in the running.
The IOC unveiled the candidates today (Monday), with the list containing a British Lord, Middle Eastern prince, African politician, multi-millionaire sports apparel executive and the son of the organisation’s former president.
The election will be held at the IOC session in ancient Olympia, Greece in March 2025, but the winner will not formally take office until June. Before that, between January 20 and 24, the IOC will meet in Lausanne to listen to the presentations of all candidates.
The seven IOC members bidding to replace Bach are: Lord Sebastian Coe, Johan Eliasch (both Great Britain), Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr (Spain), David Lappartient (France), Prince Feisal Al Hussein (Jordan), Morinari Watanabe (Japan) and Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe).
All nine IOC presidents to date have been men, with eight of them from Europe and one from the United States
Bach, 70, is stepping down next year upon the expiration of his maximum 12-year tenure (an eight year term, plus another four). He had been one of six candidates bidding to replace Jacques Rogge back in 2013.
The German executive’s successor will be fronting a financially robust organisation. Revenues of $7.6bn (€7bn) were reported for the 2017-21 Olympic cycle, the most recent quadrennial for which full data is available, while some $7.3bn has already been secured for 2025-28 and $6.2bn in deals for 2029-2032, the IOC revealed recently.
Meet the candidates
Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr
Age: 64
Nationality: Spanish
Entry into IOC: 2001
Roles: IOC vice-president (2016-2020 and 2022-); first vice-president of the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) (1996-); member IOC Television & Marketing Services board (2023-); member of Spanish Olympic Committee (1989-).
Chances: A strong contender given he grew up within the Olympic Movement – his father was president of the IOC between 1982 and 2001. Samaranch Jnr is a popular figure in Lausanne, has made strong connections within the IOC over the years and sits on the influential IOC executive board (EB) as one of four vice-presidents.
David Lappartient
Age: 51
Nationality: French
Entry into IOC: 2022
Roles: president of International Cycling Union (UCI) (2017-); president of French Olympic Committee (2023-); chair of the IOC Esports and Gaming Liaison Group; chair of the Esports Commission (2023-)
Chances: Lappartient has been a rapidly rising figure within the sports world after joining the IOC in 2022, and comes into the race off the back of overseeing France’s most successful Olympic Games in Paris and heading up a successful French Alps bid for the 2030 Winter Games.
Bach himself is said to support the credentials of Lappartient, and has tasked him in recent years with moving the Olympics into the esports world in a bid to tap a younger audience. Bach appointed Lappartient as chair of the IOC’s new Esports Commission, which resulted in the recent announcement of the Olympic Esports Games.
Sebastian Coe
Age: 67
Nationality: British
Entry into IOC: 2020
Roles: former UK MP for the Conservative Party, president of World Athletics (2015-); chairman of London 2012 organising committee; chairman of British Olympic Association (2012-2016); executive chairman of CSM Sport and Entertainment (2013-2020).
Chances: Very strong… but what of IOC politics? Few candidates can quite match Coe’s CV: double Olympic gold medalist, politician, businessman and administrator. But his runs-ins with Bach, who will hold considerable sway in this election campaign, could prove costly.
Despite his credentials, Coe only became an IOC member in 2020 after strained relations between World Athletics and the IOC over the Briton’s decision to ban Russian track and field athletes almost a decade ago following the country’s doping scandal.
Coe turns 68 later this month, and as the oldest in the running, the IOC’s rule book could complicate his bid. IOC rules have an age limit of 70, although members can seek a four-year extension. He is also due to step down from his current role as president of World Athletics in 2027, at which point he would no longer be an IOC member. IOC presidential terms last eight years, with the option of an additional four years.
Coe also came under fire in the run-up to Paris 2024 after World Athletics took the unprecedented step of ringfencing a share of its Olympic revenues to reward gold medal winners at the Games.
The IOC had not been informed of World Athletics’ plan and Bach was said to have been unimpressed.
Perhaps with an eye on getting Bach’s support, Lappartient was quickest to come out in support of the IOC’s policy, saying: “If we concentrate the money on only top athletes, only gold [medalists], then of course a lot of opportunities will disappear for athletes all over the world.”
Kirsty Coventry
Age: 41
Nationality: Zimbabwean
Entry into IOC: 2013
Roles: Zimbabwe sports minister (2018-); member of Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (2013-); IOC EB member (2023-); chair of coordination commission for Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games; chair of coordination commission for Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
Chances: Five-time Olympian, having won gold in swimming in 2004 and 2008, Coventry is Zimbabwe’s most decorated athlete and has been seen as a potential Bach heir apparent over the past decade. Bach himself is said to be impressed with her credentials.
Coventry is only the second woman to stand for the IOC presidency (USA’s Anita Defrantz was the first to do so) and with the organisation having made greater strides towards gender equality both on the field of play and in governance roles in recent years, she is well-placed to make history. Of the 111 IOC members at present, 48 are women.
Morinari Watanabe
Age: 65
Nationality: Japanese
Entry into IOC: 2018
Roles: president of International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) (2016-); Japanese Olympic Committee EB member (2019-); Tokyo 2020 organising committee EB member; chair of the Boxing Task Force (2019-)
Chances: Watanabe knows how to run an election campaign, having comfortably seen off challengers to first win the FIG presidential election in 2016 and then retain the position in 2021. He has also become a trusted aide of Bach, having been appointed by the IOC president to chair a special task force created to ensure the delivery of boxing competitions at the Olympics, given the expulsion of the International Boxing Association from the Olympic Movement.
However, he lacks charisma and is not thought to enjoy enough support to challenge the likes of Coe, Samaranch et al.
Prince Feisal Al Hussein
Age: 60
Nationality: Jordanian
Entry into IOC: 2010
Roles: IOC EB member (2019-); president of the Jordan Olympic Committee (2003-); founder and chairman of Generations For Peace (2007-); Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) EB member (2007-), member of the executive council of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC)
Chances: Prince Feisal is another who knows how to work the corridors of the IOC, having been on the influential executive board since 2019. As such his IOC CV is lengthy; he currently chairs the IOC Working Group on Safeguarding and is vice-chairman of the Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commission. A popular figure within the IOC, particularly among the OCA contingent, but like Watanabe not considered to be among the favourites.
Johan Eliasch
Age: 62
Nationality: British (dual Swedish nationality)
Entry into IOC: 2024
Roles: Chairman of private investment firm ECJ Holdings (1984-); CEO of sportswear manufacturer Head (1995-2021); president of International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) (2021-)
Chances: Low. The wildcard among the seven candidates announced today, given Eliasch only became an IOC member in late July and has just one Session, in Paris, to build up a connection with his fellow members.
Eliasch has not been afraid to upset the status quo in skiing since assuming the FIS presidency in 2021, as he attempted to push through a controversial rights centralisation project.