Thomas Bach has become the ninth president of the
International Olympic Committee and succeeds Jacques Rogge who is standing down
after 12 years.
The German Thomas Bach has been elected as the new
International Olympic Committee president, making him one of the most powerful
figures in world sport and global affairs.
Thomas Bach, an Olympic fencing gold medallist from Germany,
has been elected the president of the International Olympic Committee,
succeeding Jacques Rogge.
Bach, the long-time favourite, defeated five rival candidates
in Tuesday's secret balloting.
He secured a winning majority in the second round.
A former Olympic fencing gold medalist, Bach becomes the
ninth president in the 119-year history of the IOC. He is the eighth European
to hold the presidency.
In a ceremony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he was
officially announced as the president, Bach said that he knows about the great
responsibility of an IOC president.
Bach had long coveted the presidency, which is awarded for
an initial eight-year term, and ran a sophisticated lobbying campaign in which
the Kuwaiti Sheikh Ahmad al-Sabah played a controversial role.
The 59-year-old former Adidas executive, who joined the IOC
in 1991 and has held a number of influential roles, will replace Jacques Rogge as
the organisation's ninth president in its 119-year history.
Rogge unveiled his successor to a standing ovation from the
102 members present at the IOC's session in Buenos Aires that had already
decided that Tokyo should host the 2020 Games and wrestling should retain its
Olympic status.
"This makes me happy. I want to lead the IOC according
to my motto - unity in diversity. I want to be a president for all," said
Bach.
"I will do my very best to balance well all the needs
of the stakeholders of the Olympic movement. You should know my doors, my ears
and my heart are always open to you."
Rogge, considered to have restored the credibility and
financial strength of the IOC following the Salt Lake City scandal, is standing
down after 12 years at the helm.
Bach saw off a late effort by his five rivals - the Puerto
Rican Richard Carrion, Swiss lawyer Denis Oswald, international boxing chief Ck
Wu, Singaporean businessman Ng Ser Miang and former pole vaulter Sergey Bubka -
to work together to stop him.
Bach has promised to overhaul the way the Games are bid for
and make them cheaper to host.
He inherits a financially stable IOC but will immediately
face political challenges around the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and logistical
issues concerning the 2016 Rio Games.
The Kuwaiti Sheikh al-Sabah, considered an increasingly
influential figure in IOC circles, admitted to lobbying on behalf of Bach in a
breach of the IOC's rules.
Oswald was then also ticked off by the IOC for saying that
he was concerned about Bach's links to the Sheikh, who is president of the
Association of National Olympic Committees and whose lobbying was seen as a
factor in the election of Tokyo as 2020 host and wrestling's successful attempt
to remain on the Olympic programme.
"I want an independent candidate who is not dependant
on certain alliances and who uses his position for nothing else than the good
of sport," he said. "The members must make their decision but some
don't like the link between Bach and Kuwait.
The German's election by the 102 IOC members present in
Buenos Aires was ultimately unaffected by a withering documentary aired in his
homeland in the run up to the vote.
It accused him of cheating when he was a young fencer by
using a wet glove to disable the scoring system, of paying inducements to
sports stars when he was an Adidas executive and of being named in Stasi files
over an influence peddling scheme. A spokesman for Bach called the claims
"nonsense".
The new president, who won a fencing gold medal in the team
foil in 1976 before entering sports marketing and politics, defeated five other
candidates in the largest field ever for the role, reflecting the relative scarcity
of opportunities to run for the top job and the power it wields.
Speaking before the vote, he said he saw the role as being
akin to being the conductor of an orchestra.
"The role of the IOC president is being the conductor
of the worldwide orchestra of the members," he said. "He is the
conductor of a fascinating orchestra with the members who have so many
strengths and you have to allow to play the instrument they prefer and get them
in harmony."
In the lobby of the Hilton, all the various concentric
circles of interested parties - international sporting federations, lobbyists,
journalists and functionaries - gathered to watch the election on a big screen.
In the first round of voting, there was a tie for last place
and Association of International Boxing Associations president Wu was
eliminated following a run off against the Singaporean Ng
No comments:
Post a Comment