On eve of Olympic election, IOC presidential candidate Samaranch plays down emerging favorite status

COSTA NAVARINO, Greece (AP) — With perception growing he can become the next IOC president Thursday, Juan Antonio Samaranch played down his possible status as favorite on the eve of voting.

“I admire you guys very much for the capacity sometimes,” Samaranch told reporters Wednesday, “to predict what the result will be. I really don’t know.”

The most open presidential contest in the modern International Olympic Committee history is now widely seen as narrowing to three of the seven candidates: IOC vice president Samaranch and a pair of two-time Olympic gold medalists, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry.

Coventry, the 41-year-old sports minister of Zimbabwe, would be the first woman and first African to lead the IOC in its 131 years.

“I’m biased so I’m going to say yes,” she said Wednesday, when asked if it was time for a female president. “Let’s create some change, let’s make sure that happens.”

All the candidates and their voters are in the exclusive and invited club of IOC members currently numbering 109.

A theory among veteran Olympic watchers is Coventry, long seen as outgoing president Thomas Bach’s preferred choice, has a solid bloc of voters in the first round but short of an absolute majority to win.

Then, it is suggested, Samaranch will be well placed to pick up votes in each subsequent round when other candidates are eliminated. Also in the race are Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan, Johan Eliasch, David Lappartient and Morinari Watanabe.

The winner Thursday formally takes office on June 23 — officially Olympic Day — as Bach reaches his maximum 12 years in office.

Elusive votes

The thoughts and voting intentions of IOC members are perhaps the most elusive of any sports politics body. Among them, the Emir of Qatar, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, princesses from Liechtenstein and Saudi Arabia, princes from Bhutan and Monaco, former lawmakers and diplomats including past presidents of Croatia and Costa Rica, plus sports officials and Olympic athletes.

“There is a lot of guesswork what is going on,” said Prince Feisal, an IOC member for 15 years who sits on its executive board. “I have got an extremely good chance.”

Coventry did not directly address a question Wednesday about Bach's backing, though insisted campaigning was above board.

The Auburn University graduate urged voters “to really think about what they want the movement to be represented by and match that with who they feel is the best candidate.”

Samaranch said votes were precious and confidential, and suggested voters must “forget about” pressures, recommendations and identity politics.

“Each one has to make sure that they use that important right they have to vote however they feel,” he said.

Coe, who has a comprehensive track record as an athlete, former British lawmaker and 2012 London Olympics organizer, offered just brief comments when candidates ran a gauntlet of global media during a break on the first of three days of the IOC’s annual meeting.

“I’m in good shape but it’s only lunchtime,” quipped the 68-year-old president of track and field’s World Athletics.

A tight campaign

An opaque five-month campaign tightly controlled by the IOC will see no formal presentations by candidates before voting starts Thursday at 4 p.m. local time in Greece (1400 GMT).

Just one formal campaign event was allowed, in January at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the seven made 15-minute speeches and no questions were allowed.

“It would have been great to have that option,” Lappartient, the French president of the International Cycling Union, said Wednesday. “Then you can really feel the capacity of the candidate.”

The winner Thursday will be the 10th president in IOC history. The seventh was Samaranch’s father, also Juan Antonio Samaranch, who oversaw appointing some of these voters before his 21-year term ended in 2001.

Asked if family heritage was an advantage, Samaranch said: “Not in this moment, I think I really have to concentrate on the future.”

The Spanish financier also suggested what will be the key challenge for the winner, with the 2026 Winter Games in northern Italy and the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games on the horizon.

“There is one and one only,” Samaranch said. “We must concentrate (on) successful and relevant Olympic Games. The rest comes with success in the games.”

___

AP Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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