Welcome to iSportconnect’s live updates of the 125th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Buenos Aires. The Olympic movement are gathered in the Argentinean capital to elect a host city for the 2020 Olympic Games, a new sport and a new President of the IOC.
> THOMAS BACH BECOMES THE NINTH PRESIDENT OF THE IOC
> WRESTLING WINS BACK PLACE for 2020 OLYMPICS
> TOKYO WINS 2020 Bidding ELECTION Yesterday!
You can also follow us on Twitter: @isportconnect. Tweet us your views on the Session.
Edited by Steve Moorhouse & Ismail Uddin
Live Updates – 
(Time shown is local time in Buenos Aires – +4 hours for BST)
12:51 There we are. Thomas Bach is the ninth President of the IOC and the eighth from Europe. In the end none of the elections sprung a surprise with the favourites in each three categories winning. Thank you for joining me and my colleague Ismail Uddin over the three votes, we hope you enjoyed the coverage.
12:47 “I know of the great responsibility of an IOC President, this makes me humble. I want to lead the IOC in my motto, unity in diversity.”
12:42 Thomas Bach is the new IOC President
12:33 They are back and we are now watching a video explaining President’s of past years. They enjoy videos at the IOC!
12:28 The IOC members are due back in their seats with the announcement of their new President set to take place in two minutes time. Will the favourite Bach win or will we have a suprise in this 125th Session?
12:16 Fifteen minutes until the IOC return to their seats and announce their new President. Dan Roan of the BBC on Twitter says: “If Thomas Bach is declared new IOC President in 15 mins (as looks likely), he’ll become the 8th European out of 9 to hold the position.”
11:39 As the new President was confirmed after only two rounds of votes, it is safe to assume that Bach has won. He has been the favourite from the start and it would be a big shock now if he is not elected. Interesting that Ng was in a run-off in the first round, considering many, myself included, thought he was a serious contender to Bach.
11:38 Journalist Christian Radnedge on Twitter says: “Surprising if winner not Thomas Bach but then the sporting world is full of surprises…”
11:33 We have heard from Michael Pedersen, expert in sport governance who has given us his take on what the new IOC President needs to do: “The new IOC President is going to face high expectations, when he takes office shortly. As far as good governance in sport is concerned, he will be facing an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate leadership on one of the most critical challenges facing the sport community. The extent to which the President proves able and willing to modernise governance standards will not only define his lasting legacy. It will also determine the robustness of the foundation for building trust, performance and growth in sport – and so the robustness of the foundation for further developing sport and playing a beautiful game. Critical governance challenges include modernizing IOC’s political and operational governance standards, including governance standards for international sport federations and national Olympic committees to remain eligible for full IOC funding in the future.”
11:28 There is a “new IOC President” says Rogge. We will tell you who in around one hour.
11:25 Voting finally closes after an IOC member struggles with the technology in front of him. Owen Gibson from The Guardian on Twitter said: “Much hilarity as one IOC member grapples with the art of pressing a button.”
11:23 Vote is open. Here is the views of Michael Payne, former IOC Marketing chief on Twitter: “As soon as we see scrutineer put result in sealed enevelope we have a result – no more rounds. Heads up before Pres announces!”
11:21 Ng comes through the tie-off and Wu is out of the second round of voting which takes place now.
11:19 The other four candidates made it through unscratched, so Ng and Wu came joint last. Interesting that Ng was one of the favourites to challenge Bach.
11:17 Tie between Ng and Wu so there is a run-off in the first round.
11:14 The first round of votes opens and closes very quickly.
11:07 Reminder of the procedures is happening now. Electronic voting with IOC members pushing the relevant number issued below. The favourite Thomas Bach has been assigned 8. Rogge will not vote unless there is a deadlock.
11:06 The numbers designated to each candidate are 5 – Wu, 6 – Bubka, 9 – Oswald, 4 – Carrion, 8 – Bach, 7 – Ng
11:01 We are back and Rogge is reading out the six candidates who hope to replace him.
10:59 Candidates still campaigning during the coffee break. Reports on Twitter say that Carrion’s camp have said it will be “monumentally hard” to beat Bach
10:53 We have heard from Keir Radnedge, international journalist who has covered the whole 2020 bidding process. Who does he think will be elected today? “Thomas Bach has been the favourite ever since before Jacques Rogge was re-elected for his second term and nothing has happened to change that common view. For me, Ser Miang Ng – senior vice-president of the IOC – is the most challenging outsider. He has certainly been a busy campaigner.”
10:51 Not long now until the IOC are back in their seats. Denis Oswald also spoke to us about his candidacy.
10:48 Sergey Bubka, the Olypic pole-vault legend, spoke to us earlier in the summer about his Presidential campaign. Can he be successful today?
10:31 Pictures coming in from Tokyo as the winning Tokyo 2020 delegation return home to take questions from the local media
10:29 Whilst the IOC are on their break, you can join the likes of Sochi 2014 President Dmitry Chernyshenko in our 2020 Olympic Games discussions. “I am delighted that wrestling has regained its place on the Olympic Program. Wrestling is special for Russia, as well as being extremely popular, it is also a sport that Russia is very successful at,” was his reponse in our Tokyo/Wrestling discussion.
10:15 You can also read Richard Carrion’s interview. The Head of the Finance Commission at the IOC speaks about the money behind the movement
10:12 In July I spoke to candidate Ser Miang Ng about his manifesto, why he wants to lead the Olympic movement and how he would manage the IOC.
10:05 Whilst we are waiting, have a read of our article in the Road to 2020 e-magazine about the six candidates
10:00 Rogge calls for a “long coffee break” but remains adamant that IOC members are back by 10:55 for the big vote. 11:00am-12pm is the election of his successor.
9:57 IAAF President Diack is handed a small gift from President Rogge for his efforts in the Olympic movement.
9:54 Kevan Gosper & Lamine Diack have been elected as honourary members of the IOC. They have stepped down as members because they reach 80 years-old.
9:50 Jacques Rogge ends the elections and asks the IOC to “welcome the new members in, they deserve a warm round of applause.”
9:49 Former Olympic high jumper Stefan Holm is elected in.
9:44 Camiel Eurlings is elected as a member of the IOC with 83 voting yes and 10 voting no
9:38 Moving swiftly along, Dagmawit Girmay Berhane of Ethiopia is being voted for now. Yes votes 81. Berhane is now a member of the IOC
9:35 USOC’s Larry Probst becomes an IOC Member
9:32 Paul Tergat elected as an IOC Member, Tergat is Kenya’s former marathon world-record holder.
9:28 Mikaela Maria Antonia Cojuangco-Jaworsk, Alexander Zhukov, Bernard Rajzman, Octavian Morariu have been elected as IOC Members.
9:24 Welcome back to iSportconnect’s live coverage of the 125th IOC Session. The IOC will elect a new President this afternoon at 12:30pm local time. New IOC members and a Vice-President will be elected today also.