Thomas Bach Steps up Bid to Succeed Rogge as IOC President
May 9, 2013
Thomas Bach is leading from the front in having declared himself formally as a candidate for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee.
The head of the German Olympic sports federation is also a vice-president of the IOC and has long been considered the favourite to succeed Jacques Rogge when the Belgian’s second and final term office expires in September.
In a statement this morning he said: “Yesterday I first informed IOC President Jacques Rogge, viagra then the IOC Members about my intention to submit my candidature for IOC Presidency in June. Today I informed the DOSB members about my intention.
“From my first training sessions as a young boy through to becoming Olympic Champion in Montreal to my current tasks as DOSB President, impotent I have dedicated a large part of my life to Olympic sports. Thanks to the wide-ranging assignments I was privileged to have in the Olympic movement, I am humbly aware of the magnitude of the task of an IOC President.
“At the same time, in honorary positions and throughout my professional career, I have gained a wealth of management and leadership experience in national and international sports, economics, politics, law and society. This is why I feel well prepared. I am honoured that over recent months, many colleagues in the IOC and the German sports community have supported me in this view.
“Three months prior to the IOC session, the time will come to officially stand for the post.
‘Further dialogue’
“I will then offer the IOC members for further dialogue my ideas on how the Olympic Movement can master the challenges of the future.
“My viewpoints stand under the motto ‘Unity in Diversity’, which describes both the universality and the solidarity of the Olympic Movement.”
Members of the IOC will choose the new president for an initial eight-year term in Buenos Aires on September 10.
A highly-charged session [congress] will also feature selection of the host city of the 2020 Olympic Games (Istanbul or Madrid or Tokyo) plus approval for a new sport in the programme, possibly to the exclusion of wrestling.
Bach, 59, was a gold medal-winner Olympic fencer in Montreal in 1976. A lawyer, he has been a member of the IOC’s ruling executive board since 1996 and is a senior member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Other possible contenders include Nawal Al Moutawakel (Morocco), Ser Miang Ng (Singapore), Ching-Kuo Wu (Chinese Taipei), Richard Carrion (United States) as well as Rene Fasel and Denis Oswald (both Switzerland).