Lord Coe Among 7 Candidates for IOC Presidency

Lord Coe the president of World Athletics joins seven confirmed candidates competing to succeed Thomas Bach as International Olympic Committee (IOC) president. Bach, who has led the IOC since 2013 announced that he will step down after his second term ends next year during the Paris Olympics.

The list of candidates includes:

• Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. from Spain, who currently serves as an IOC vice president and previously headed the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics coordination commission.
• David Lappartient from France, who serves as the president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the French Olympic Committee and chairs the IOC’s esports group.
• Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe, a seven-time Olympic swimming medallist and the current minister of sport in Zimbabwe aiming to become the first woman and African IOC president.
• Morinari Watanabe from Japan, who leads the International Gymnastics Federation and played a key role in organizing the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
• Johan Eliasch from Sweden, who heads the International Ski and Snowboard Federation and chairs the sports goods company Head with experience advising on environmental issues.
• Prince Feisal al Hussein from Jordan, a former wrestler and rally driver, who now leads the Jordan Olympic Committee and founded Generations for Peace.
• Lord Sebastian Coe from Great Britain, a renowned middle-distance runner, former Conservative MP and key organizer of the London 2012 Olympics. Although Coe would face an age limit of 70 by the end of an eight-year term, he lifted similar restrictions when he became president of World Athletics.

Therefore , the IOC will elect the new president during a session in ancient Olympia from March 18-21, 2025 and the new president will begin their term in June 2025. Additionally, candidates will present their cases to the IOC membership in Lausanne, Switzerland this January.