IOC President Thomas Bach poses with IOC members. His term ends next month, paving the way for new candidates to run for the position. IOC
Next month, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will elect a new president.
Ahead of the 144th General Session, which will be held in Greece from March 18-21, Vath Chamroeun, secretary-general of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), discussed the challenges which will face the incoming president, including US President Donald Trump’s new administration and finding ways to reintegrate Russia into the Olympic Games.
He told assembled media representatives how the world’s attention is focused on the leadership transition, as Thomas Bach ends his 12-year tenure.
Chamroeun explained that the term of the IOC presidency is 8 + 4 years, so the former president no longer has the right to run for re-election.
Seven prominent individuals have declared their candidacy, all of them highly capable and experienced. The first candidate is His Royal Highness Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan, the president of the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC), and a member of the OCA Executive Board.
The second is Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., a member of the Spanish Olympic committee and the son of former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. The third is Morinari Watanabe of Japan, an IOC member and president of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
The fourth is David Lappartient, president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and president of the French committee. The fifth is Kirsty Coventry, an IOC member and Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Tourism in Zimbabwe, as well as a former Olympic swimming medallist.
Also on the short list are Johan Eliasch (Sweden/UK), an IOC member and president of the International Ski Federation (FIS), and Sebastian Coe (UK), an IOC member, president of World Athletics and former Olympic champion.
“This is historic as there are seven prominent sports figures vying for the presidency. In the past, there were only 2 to 3 candidates,” explained Chamroeun.
“All of these candidates are distinguished, well-known and have vast experience in managing the Olympic movement. However, everything will be decided through 110 votes from IOC members, which includes two ASEAN representatives,” he added.
Vath Chamroeun addresses a recent meeting of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC). NOCC
He raised the fact that the new IOC president have to manage relations with the new US president regarding the organisation of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“The first challenge for the new IOC president will be working with Donald Trump for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. We’ll see how the new president works with Trump. Will Donald Trump bring any surprises? The new president will have to face many challenges to maintain the Olympic movement’s integrity for the next four years,” he noted.
In addition, whoever wins election will also face the challenge of finding substantial revenue – at least $6.7 billion – comparable to the revenue from 2020 to 2024, to help sustain the Olympic movement and improve the quality of the Olympic Games after the setbacks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Another critical point is the search for world peace, in line with the Olympic principle that “sport brings peace”. As a partner of the UN, the IOC consistently supports initiatives to seek world peace, resolve conflicts, and address various disputes.
Thus, the new IOC president will have the responsibility to help eliminate discrimination, prevent conflicts, and bring major countries back to the Olympics, especially Russia.
“The new president will have to figure out how to bring Russia back into the Olympics. Russia, as a country with famous athletes and excellent sports techniques, has been excluded from the last three Olympic Games – 2016, 2020, and 2024 – due to doping issues and political problems. The new president will have to deal with this situation,” explained the NOCC secretary-general.
“For the last three Olympic Games, Russia could only participate as individual athletes under a neutral flag. The new president will need to handle this situation well if he wants to reintegrate Russia into the games,” he added.
Although the new IOC president will face serious challenges, Chamroeun, on behalf of the members of the NOCC, expressed hope that the Olympic movement will remain strong as an important force for global unity and peace.
He emphasised that the Olympics are not only about competition or public health but also about contributing to social well-being, community development and many other aspects of society.
“We hope and believe that the new IOC president will be an outstanding leader of the Olympic movement for the next 8 years,” he said.
“We also hope that the NOCC, under the leadership of His Excellency Thong Khon, will collaborate with the new IOC president to make the Olympic movement even better, and we look forward to meeting the new president after the election this year,” he added.
