Samaranch or Coventry, that is the question. Coe was not only thwarted, his performance remained surprisingly poor, as if he himself had never believed in becoming IOC president. Lappartient, Watanabe, Eliasch and Feisal just don't want to come in last. The water level report.
Why Kirsty Coventry will become IOC president next week. What would have to happen to prevent it – an ethics complaint against Bach et al, for example. What the latest multi-billion dollar TV deal has to do with the election, and the dubious paths that led Coventry in the IOC in the first place.
There are not even ten full days to go to the election of the 10th president in the history of the International Olympic Committee. Nobody should completely rule out the option of the first female president, even if there is increasing resistance to the plans to install Kirsty Coventry.
The world is out of joint. So far, the fascist madness in the White House has had little direct impact on the Olympic system. But let's not fool ourselves: what despots, billionaires, warmongers and Nazis do will also have a lasting impact on organized Olympic sport.
Will Thomas Bach have the Olympic Charter amended and begin a third term in office? Will he even step down once in this millennium? Who has he chosen as his successor? Many questions, important background information and some answers.
The IOC president sought to get close to Putin even after the Sochi Doping Games. He fraternised with Xi Jinping. He politicised the 2018 Games in South Korea, driven by the dream of the Nobel Peace Prize. All a miserable failure that dragged the Games deeper into a political quagmire. A commentary.
The IOC and the Olympic federations are obliged to punish Russia and its warmonger, Vladimir Putin. Jens Weinreich calls for a comprehensive independent criminal investigation of the longstanding deep connection of the Olympic institutions with the Kremlin within the framework of the EU.
Kamila Valieva' doping case raised questions about a minimum age for Olympic athletes. The Games thrive on high-performing children – some of them so young that they are not even allowed to compete in the Youth Olympic Games. Children are vulnerable to authoritarian states chasing medals and glory.
Thomas Bach has been re-elected as IOC President for a final term without any opponents or opposition. Using Bach’s doctoral thesis as a departure point, Jens Weinreich describes how constantly planning for the future has provided Bach with an unprecedented hold on power in the Olympic system.
