COSTA NAVARINO, March 21 , 2025 - In spite of suffering a crushing defeat in two minutes, the unsuccessful candidates of the IOC presidential election on Thursday have pledged their support for the historic winner Kirsty Coventry, hoping that they have been able leave a mark on the Olympic movement with their respective manifestos.
LANDSLIDE VICTORY A race that seemed hard-to-call and unpredictable for six months, which many thought would be a drawn-out affair, was over in the blink of an eye. Then the results showed the landslide victory of Coventry: she amassed 49 votes out of a total of 97. IOC Vice-President Juan Antonio Samaranch settled for second place with 28 votes. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe was third with 8 votes, followed by UCI President David Lappartient and FIG President Morinari Watanabe with 4 votes apiece. IOC Executive Board member Prince Feisal Al Hussein and FIS President Johan Eliasch got 2 votes each.
RIGHT PERSON “I think we have the right person in the right place,” said Eliasch, who believes that his presidency campaign has given winter sports the opportunity to have a stronger voice in the movement. “We had a big, big first round victory, so the membership made a very clear choice. She deserves the victory. I think we will have a great president who has the experience, background to make a difference and of course I will support her in every way, shape or form that I can.”
SIGN OF OPTIMISM Samaranch, who was one of the first members to give Coventry a kiss on the cheek as she walked towards the podium to give her acceptance speech, added: “For her to start her presidency with those numbers, it is a sign of optimism to all of us. We will all be behind her.” The Spaniard was looking to follow in the footsteps of his father, Samaranch Senior, who served as the 7th leader of the organisation from 1980 to 2001.
SHE DESERVES OUR SUPPORT Coe, whose result was the most surprising, said: "I think what is pretty clear is that the athletes and the women members in particular supported her very strongly in the first round, and you know those things happen in elections.” The 68-year-old, who was also a major contender in the contest added: “I'm a member of the International Olympic Committee. She's the newly elected president. She deserves our support and she'll get it.”
A STRONG MESSAGE Reacting to the perception that Coventry had the full backing of the outgoing President Bach and this might have influenced the election, Lappartient said: “It’s the members that make the decision. Thomas Bach can have some feelings. You can have a preferred candidate in an election but finally it is the choice of the members, so we have to respect this choice.
“I think it’s a strong message because she’s the first female president. And this is coming a little more than 40 years after the first female entered the IOC in 1981. Gender equality is clearly a top priority on our agenda and this is a great step.”
A satisfied Watanabe added: “We are an international organisation, we need diversity. This is a good promotion for the IOC.”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE Prince Feisal did not show up in the mixed zone after the election but during the AIPS’ “Let’s Talk to the IOC Candidates” a few weeks ago, he said: “Regardless of what the outcome is going to be, I've contributed. I wanted to make a difference. I haven't sat on the sideline and just critiqued everything. I tried my best… And I hope that whoever becomes president will look at it and say, ‘actually Prince Feisal had some good ideas, maybe I should really think about them.’” The IOC EB member was also among the first to congratulate Coventry after she was announced as the 10th IOC president. Coventry’s term begins on 24 June.
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