Seven candidates vie for IOC presidency but it looks a three-horse race between Samaranch, Coe and Coventry

The race to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee is nearing the finish with seven candidates vying to replace him as head of the Movement. Among them are Prince Feisal Al Hussein, Johan Eliasch, David Lappartient, and Morinari Watanabe. However, most see it as a three-horse race between Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry. Any of those three would be a historic winner in the election in Greece on Thursday. Samaranch would emulate his father of the same name and become the first father and son to be crowned president, Coe would be the first Briton and Zimbabwean Coventry the youngest at 41, and both the first woman and African. Jordanian royal Prince Feisal would become the first Asian and Arab president of the IOC should he pull off what seems an unlikely victory. Nevertheless surprises from the electorate of 100-plus IOC members cannot be ruled out in the battle to become the most powerful figure in sport governance. Whoever wins will take over a financially secure body, but those calm waters are muddied by a febrile geopolitical situation. Adding to the potent mix, the new IOC chief will have to deal with unpredictable US President Donald Trump as Los Angeles hosts the next Summer Olympics in 2028. In this "very complex world", as Samaranch termed it, where previously undisputed truths such as "universality, fraternity and unity" are now disputed, it is no time to take a leap in the dark. The 65-year-old Spaniard, an assured and polished performer with over two decades as an IOC member, argues he provides the steady hand at the tiller that is required. "It is not about the face or the gender, or the continent," he told AFP in an interview. "Even in the easiest of times, we should elect the best person for the job. "This is too important and too relevant for too many people to experiment." Samaranch would take over an IOC radically different to the one his father did in 1980 and then ran for over two decades, effectively saving it with a radical transformation of its finances. Samaranch Junior, though, has repeatedly batted away comparisons with his father. "Nothing of what he and all these extraordinary people did to bring Olympism back to life, nothing of what they encountered are remotely relevant today," he said. Coe appears to be seen by Bach as the disruptor candidate, which is perhaps surprising given many would view him as an establishment figure. While Samaranch brings a calm urbanity, two-time Olympic 1500 metres champion Coe oozes charisma and a ready wit. Coe, 68, also boasts an impressive CV. A former lawmaker for the centre-right Conservatives, he led London's successful bid to host the 2012 Games, surprising long-time front-runners Paris. He then took the plaudits along with his team for the highly praised hosting of the Games and has been credited with reforming World Athletics since becoming president in 2015. He has promised IOC members will get a greater voice than it is felt has been the case during Bach's 12-year tenure. "If you've got really smart people around you and your ambition as a leader is to have people that are smarter than you around you, then use them," he said. Both Samaranch and Coe have conducted high-profile media campaigns in contrast to Coventry's low-key strategy. The seven-time Olympic swimming medallist, two of them gold, is widely seen as being Bach's preferred candidate, something she denies. “For me, what better way to prove our commitment to gender equality than having the time and the opportunity to vote for a female president?” she told The National in a Zoom roundtable interview last week. She has also been firm about protecting women in sport. "It is our job as the IOC to ensure we are going to create that environment and not just create a level playing field but an environment that allows for every athlete to feel safe." There have been question marks over her accepting the post of sports minister in the Zimbabwean government whose election in 2023 was described as neither "free nor fair." "I have learned so many things from stepping into this ministry role. I have taken it upon myself to change a lot of policies within my country and how things are done," Coventry said. There have been complaints from some of the candidates, including Coe, over the electoral rules – mainly that there is not enough engagement permitted with their electorate, the IOC members. Prince Feisal, son of King Hussein and Princess Muna of Jordan and younger brother of King Abdullah , believes his experience, work ethic and values will stand him in good stead when members cast their votes at the 144th IOC Session on Thursday. "My father instilled in us a sense of service, whether it's service to the nation, to the country when I was in the military, or to the global environment," Prince Feisal told The National in an exclusive interview. "And sports is a natural extension of what I've been brought up with. To run for the presidency is something that I see is just a continuation of my lifetime in dedication to service."