Sebastian Coe is one of 7 IOC members competing to succeed Thomas Bach as president

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Two former Olympic champions are in the running to become the next IOC president. So is a prince from a Middle Eastern kingdom and the son of a former president. The world leaders of cycling, gymnastics and skiing are also in the game.

The International Olympic Committee on Monday published a list of seven candidates who will run in March to succeed outgoing President Thomas Bach for the next eight years.

Only one woman, IOC Executive Board member Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, entered the contest to lead an organization that has had only male presidents in its 130-year history. Eight of those presidents were from Europe and one from the United States.

Coventry and Sebastian Coe are two-time gold medalists in swimming and running respectively. Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan also sits on the IOC Executive Board.

Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. is one of the four vice-presidents of the IOC. He is an investment banker whose father was president for 21 years, until 2001.

David Lappartient is the president of the cycling governing body, Morinari Watanabe heads gymnastics and Johan Eliasch is the president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation. Coe is the president of World Athletics on the track.

All seven met Sunday’s deadline to send a letter of intent to Bach, who must step down next year after serving the maximum 12 years in office. Bach refused last month at the Paris Olympics to try to change IOC rules to allow him to serve longer.

The next president’s term includes the Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane, Australia, four years later. Key decisions for the IOC include choosing a host for the 2036 Olympics — with India and Qatar in the mix — assessing the impact of climate change on the global sporting calendar and renewing the U.S. broadcasting deal that has underpinned Olympic finances.

An official list of candidates should be established in January, three months before the March 18-21 election rally in Greece, near the site of ancient Olympia.

Only IOC members may run for office; the other 111 members of the Olympic body can vote.

The IOC is one of the most exclusive clubs in world sport. Its members are drawn from European and Middle Eastern royalty, leaders of international sports organizations, former and current Olympic athletes, politicians and diplomats, and industrialists, including billionaires like Eliasch.

It is one of the most discreet and idiosyncratic election campaigns in the sporting world, with members unable to publicly endorse their choice.

Campaign restrictions on the candidates include a ban on publishing videos, holding public meetings and participating in public debates. They are expected to publish manifestos before the IOC holds a closed meeting to address voters in January in its home city of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Ideally, a top position at the IOC requires a thorough knowledge of sports management, an understanding of the needs of athletes and skills in global politics.

The president oversees an organization that generates billions of dollars in revenue from Olympic broadcasts and sponsorships and employs hundreds of people.

Coe is widely regarded as the most qualified candidate. He was a two-time Olympic champion in the 1500 metres, later served as an elected legislator in Britain in the 1990s, headed the bidding and organising committees for the London 2012 Olympic Games, and was president of World Athletics for nine years.

However, he clashed with the IOC, Bach and leaders of other sports organizations over several issues, including his strong stance against Russia over state-sponsored doping and the invasion of Ukraine, and the decision to offer $50,000 cash prizes to track and field gold medalists in Paris.

“A laser-like focus on sport must be the priority for the IOC and I believe I can help achieve this and more,” Coe said in a statement Monday.

However, he faces potential legal hurdles over his ability to serve a full eight-year mandate. The IOC has an age limit of 70 for members, while Coe will be 68 on election day. The rules allow for a special exemption to remain in place for four more years, but that would mean a six-year presidency unless those limits are changed.

Coventry, who turned 41 on Monday, also has government experience as Zimbabwe’s appointed Minister of Sport.

The only woman to ever run for IOC president was Anita DeFrantz, a former Olympic rower from the United States. She was eliminated in the first round of a five-way election in 2001, which was won by Jacques Rogge.

Samaranch, who turns 65 in November, is the longest-serving member of the candidates, having joined in 2001 when his father stepped down. The Spanish official would also need an extension of the IOC’s age limit.

Lappartient is also president of the French national Olympic body and has gained strong momentum from the Summer Games in Paris. He heads a project in the French Alps that was selected to host the 2030 Winter Games and was chosen by Bach to oversee a long-term project that concluded in Paris that will see Saudi Arabia host the Esports Olympic Games through 2035.

Eliasch is perhaps the most surprising candidate after being elected an IOC member less than two months ago in Paris. The Swedish-British owner of sportswear brand Head received 17 ‘no’ votes, a remarkably high number in Olympic politics.

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AP Olympic Games: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games