Thomas Bach, a former German Olympic fencing champion, has been elected president of the International Olympic Committee, replacing Jacques Rogge in the most powerful job in world sport.

New IOC President Thomas Bach will soon face tests

LONGTIME favorite Thomas Bach was elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday, keeping the powerful sports body in European hands.

    Bach, a 59-year-old German lawyer, succeeds Jacques Rogge, the Belgian who is stepping down after 12 years.

    Bach defeated five rival candidates in the secret balloting. Though all the candidates largely shared the same views during the campaign, Bach’s long experience in the Olympic movement established him as a firm favorite for the post. He won comfortably, securing nearly twice as many votes as his nearest challenger, Puerto Rican Richard Carrion, in the first round of voting.

    Bach has long been viewed as the favorite because of his resume: former Olympic athlete, long-serving member on the policy-making IOC executive board, chairman of the legal commission, head of anti-doping investigations and negotiator of European TV rights.

    “It is what I and many of the others had anticipated,” said IOC member Prince Albert of Monaco.

    “I think it was very clear. You can’t argue with his experience and his leadership and his great knowledge about the Olympic movement and the world of sports, and also the outside world. I think we are getting a great president.”

    Bach is also a member of a number of company boards in Germany and chairman of the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce.

    Elected to an eight-year term, Bach is the first gold medalist to become IOC president. He won gold in team fencing for West Germany at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

    Bach received a standing ovation for nearly a full minute after Rogge opened a sealed envelope to announce his victory. He bowed slightly to the delegates to acknowledge the warm response and thanked the members in several languages.

    “I know of the great responsibility of an IOC president,” Bach said. “This makes me humble. I want to lead the IOC according to my motto, ‘Unity and Diversity.’”

    Bach presented the 71-year-old Rogge with the IOC’s highest award, the Olympic gold order. The German could be overheard saying, to a few laughs, “I have to get used to this.”

    Bach thanked Rogge for “leaving such a great legacy and strong foundation” and said he would “count on your good advice” in the years ahead.

    The election followed the Sept. 7 IOC decision to send the 2020 Games to Tokyo and the Sept. 8 vote to reinstate wrestling for the 2020 and 2024 Games. The presidential vote is what most of the 100-plus IOC members had been focusing on.

    Bach will be tested quickly by two troublesome Olympics: the Winter Games less than five months away in the southern Russian resort of Sochi, and the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro — still three years away but setting off alarms.

    One of the first phone calls he received after his election was from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is staking his prestige on the Sochi Games.

    “He congratulated and [said] there would be close cooperation to make [sure of] the success of the Sochi Games,’’ Bach said.

    The buildup to the Feb. 7-23 games has been overshadowed by concerns with cost overruns, human rights, a budget topping US$50 billion, security threats and a Western backlash against a Russian law against gay “propaganda.’’

    Bach and the IOC have been told by the Russians there would be no discrimination against anyone in Sochi, and that Russia would abide by the Olympic Charter.

    “We have the assurances of the highest authorities in Russia that we trust,’’ Bach said.

    It remains unclear what would happen if athletes or spectators demonstrate against the anti-gay law. Rogge said this week the IOC would send a reminder to athletes that, under the Olympic Charter, they are prohibited from making any political gestures.

    At his first news conference as president, Bach was asked how the IOC would deal with human rights issues in host countries.

    “The IOC cannot be apolitical,’’ Bach said. “We have to realize that our decisions at events like Olympic Games, they have political implications. And when taking these decisions we have to, of course, consider political implications.’’

    Then he hedged.

    “But in order to fulfill our role to make sure that in the Olympic Games and for the participants the Charter is respected, we have to be strictly politically neutral. And there we also have to protect the athletes.’’

    IOC inspectors visiting Rio just over a week ago said slow progress was being made in preparations for the 2016 Games and warned that things need to be speeded up.

    Carlos Nuzman, head of the Rio organizing committee, was grilled Sept. 8 by IOC members worried about building delays, lack of local sponsorship money, and planning squabbles between the federal, state and local governments.

    “We are three years ... from Rio and we will make sure that we have very close coordination with the organizing committee, and also with the governmental authorities,’’ Bach said. “There are, of course, some issues.

    “I hope also that in the not too far future — I don’t know when — that I can visit Rio and get a firsthand impression.’’

    Bach made it clear Wednesday that he wants to change the bidding process for future Olympics and to make sustainable development a key priority.

    In what could be seen as a reference to discontent in Brazil at the spiraling cost of two major sporting competitions — the 2016 Olympics and the 2014 World Cup — Bach said he wants the populations of potential host cities to “be part of the candidature at a very early stage’’ to ensure “more participation and support.’’

    Bach added that he believes the current bidding system asks for “too much, too early’’ and leads to predictability, rather than creativity.

    “I would like to try and change that mentality a little bit, to think about bidding more as an invitation. I want to invite potential candidates to study how Olympic Games would fit into their long-term city and regional and country development ... [and] could contribute to sustainable development in their environment.’’

    Ensuring that future Olympics do not similarly strain the goodwill of host populations, and remain affordable, is a challenge that could determine the long-term health of the Olympic movement.

    The last decade has been a golden one for the Games, with successful editions in Beijing, Vancouver and London swelling IOC reserves, but the financial crisis has changed the climate.

    If developed cities are to continue to bid, the Games will need to become cheaper to stage and offer more to their hosts than a three-week party.

    On the field, doping remains a scourge for all sports but the Olympic disciplines in particular.

    Bach said another priority is to protect the “credibility and integrity of the sports organizations” and give IOC members more power in decision-making.

    It is a full-on try but Bach has the experience and goodwill within the Olympic movement to make it happen. What direction he chooses remains to be seen.(SD-Agencies)