The IOC’s six presidential candidates are wrapping up their final push for votes and preparing for Tuesday’s selection of a successor to Jacques Rogge. It’s only the second presidential election in 30 years. Six IOC members are vying for the job: Thomas Bach, a German lawyer and former Olympian; Sergey Bubka, the Ukranian pole vaulting Gold Medalist; Richard Carrion, the Puerto Rican CEO of Banco Popular; Ng Ser Miang, the Singaporean businessman; Dennis Oswald, a Swiss lawyer and Olympic rower; and C.K. Wu, the Tawainese architect and head of the boxing federation. Bach has long been seen as a frontrunner and many Olympic observers have him pegged to win a majority of votes in the first or second round of voting. But that has not stopped the other candidates from lobbying for votes. Bubka took a group of IOC members out to dinner on Monday night and Oswald and Carrion dined together over the weekend. But by the end of the IOC’s meetings Monday, the candidates felt there was little left for them to do. Ng said, “What can be done is done. All we can do is get good sleep.” The election has shaped up very differently from the last one in '01. That year, outgoing President Juan Antonion Samaranch was considered to favor Jacques Rogge as his successor. But IOC members say Rogge has stayed out of this election. Canadian IOC member Dick Pound, who ran for president in the last election in '01, said, “I don’t think Jacques has anyone in mind and it’s complicated because there are six moving parts instead of four (like 2001). Since I’ve gotten here, my sense is a majority will be for Thomas Bach. That’s not to say there aren’t five good candidates in the background.” The vote will take place from 10-11am. ET. The winner of the presidency will be named at 11:30am ET.
Tripp Mickle is on the ground in Buenos Aires reporting and tweeting from the IOC meetings. Look for continued posts from him on our On The Ground blog.
