IOC presidential election LIVE: Kirsty Coventry beats Seb Coe to claim historic victory
Lord Coe was beaten to the presidency by Zimbabwean former swimmer Kirsty Coventry in a battle for the most powerful post in sport
Seb Coe lost his bid to become the most powerful figure in sport today as Zimbabwean former swimmer Kirsty Coventry swept to victory and succeeded Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee.
The IOC president holds dominion over the Olympic movement and acts as dealmaker and diplomat handling world leaders desperate for the dose of soft power that comes with hosting an Olympic Games.
Lord Coe was one of seven candidates on the ballot paper and he was among the frontrunners alongside Juan Antonio Samaranch – the son of the influential IOC president of the same name between 1980 and 2001 – and Coventry, who was bidding to become both the first woman and first African to lead the IOC.
The 109 members – a mix of royalty, billionaires, sports executives and Olympians from around the globe – gathered in the luxury Costa Navarino resort in Greece to cast secret votes. Coventry won an overall majority in the very first round, in a shock result that made history.
Follow the news and latest updates from the IOC presidential election below.
IOC presidential election – live
The secret ballot is set to begin. We should get the first round of results shortly.
A reminder of the seven candidates, below. Coe, Samaranch and Coventry are considered the frontrunners, though Prince Feisal is also a popular character inside the IOC.
- Lord Coe (Britain), 68, president of World Athletics, the Olympics’ biggest sport
- Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr (Spain), 65, an IOC vice-president whose father was the president from 1980 to 2001
- Morinari Watanabe (Japan), 66, president of the International Gymnastics Federation
- Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe), 41, decorated Olympic swimmer and minister for sport in Zimbabwe who serves on the IOC’s executive board
- Prince Feisal Al Hussein (Jordan), 61, brother of the King of Jordan who serves on the IOC’s executive board
- David Lappartient (France), 51, president of World Cycling (UCI)
- Johan Eliasch (Britain), 63, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, the Winter Olympics’ biggest sport.
Election criticised for 'lack of transparency'
This election has been criticised by numerous high-profile figures for its lack of transparency, not least Seb Coe himself.
The election has been kept carefully under wraps with candidates allowed only tightly controlled 15-minute presentations to the membership in Lausanne last month, which were not broadcast publicly or followed up with questions from members. There have been no election debates and candidates have not been allowed to criticise each other’s campaign, while members are forbidden from public endorsements.
Coe said the process needs “more access to the members, more transparency. It has been difficult to engage and I don’t think those are the guiding principles of an election. An election is very important, in one big way, in that it gives people the opportunity to have a conversation. In future, this needs to be a more open and expansive process.”
IOC presidential election – live
Proceedings are set to get going very shortly. Here’s a look inside the room:
IOC presidential election – live
No news yet coming out of Costa Navarino resort in Greece, where members are gearing up to begin voting. Here is how the voting works:
The 109 members will electronically cast a vote for their preferred candidate. All members must be physically present and no proxy voting is allowed.
The winning candidate must secure more than 50 per cent of the votes for an overall majority. If a majority isn’t achieved in the first round of voting, then the candidate with the least number votes is eliminated, and six candidates go through to the sixth round where votes are recast. The process goes on until one candidate wins more than 50 per cent of the total votes in a given round.
The only members who cannot vote are compatriots of candidates in the process. So, for example, the other three French members of the IOC cannot until David Lappartient is eliminated for the process. However, the candidates themselves can, and do, vote for themselves. Honorary members cannot vote.
The winning candidate will serve an eight-year term, with a possible renewal of four years.
Belgium's Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant elected vice-president
Belgian businessman Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant has been elected as a new vice-president of the IOC. He was the only member to stand for the role.
There are currently four vice-presidents, though one of those – Juan Antonio Samaranch – is a candidate to become president today.
Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet made IOC member
Some bits of business before the main event.
Tony Estanguet, who led Paris 2024’s organising committee, has been made a member of the International Olympic Committee.
His compatriot David Lappartient is not expected to win today’s presidential election, so Estanguet’s nomination is likely to appease the French contingent somewhat.
Meet the candidates
OUTSIDE BET: Morinari Watanabe (Japan), 66, president of the International Gymnastics Federation.
The final candidate is Japan’s Morinari Watanabe, president of the International Gymnastics Federation and a rank outsider. Watanabe has come up with some radical ideas like hosting an Olympic Games on five continents simultaneously, and he has proposed restructuring the IOC as a House and Senate.
His boldness and originality has made an impact on some members, but Watanabe faces an uphill battle to become the first Asian president of the IOC, in part because it is primarily an Anglophone organisation, albeit he does speak some English.
Speaking to The Independent two weeks ago, one member was surprised that Watanabe had not yet phoned them to lobby for votes.
Meet the candidates
OUTSIDE BET: Johan Eliasch (Britain), 63, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, the Winter Olympics’ biggest sport.
Johan Eliasch is a Swedish-British businessman and environmentalist who heads up the Winter Olympics’ biggest sport, the Ski and Snowboard Federation. He has pitched hard on a platform of turning the Games green, suggesting the IOC should commit to conserving a rainforest the same size as each Olympic city.
Some members knew little about Eliasch before his candidacy and one was surprised he “bulldozed in” to the presidential election so soon after becoming a member last year. That is not seen as the “done thing” at the IOC, a conservative organisation where you wait your turn and earn your stripes, joining working groups and commissions to build your standing.
Meet the candidates
CONTENDER: David Lappartient (France), 51, president of World Cycling (UCI).
David Lappartient is the president of world cycling (the UCI), and the Frenchman is known as a hard-working “eager beaver” who members consider a safe pair of hands. He can expect some backing from central Europe and Francophone Africa, but his CV lacks the heft of Coe and their Spanish rival candidate with a famous name, Juan Antonio Samaranch.
Meet the candidates
CONTENDER: Prince Feisal Al Hussein (Jordan), 61, brother of the King of Jordan, who serves on the IOC’s executive board.
Prince Feisal Bin al-Hussein, the only royalty on the ballot as the brother of King Abdullah of Jordan. Prince Feisal is the head of the Jordanian Olympic Committee and has become a major player at the IOC over the past decade after serving on a number of commissions and the executive board.
His universal popularity cannot be overstated. Everyone involved with the IOC speaks glowingly about Prince Feisal, who has charisma and natural leadership to go with a strong track record in sport. He is well known for his work as founder of Generations For Peace, an NGO which promotes tolerance in areas of conflict through sport and other community programmes, and it means his “sport for peace” pitch carries genuine meaning at a time of geopolitical tension in the world.
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