PARIS (AFP) – International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said at the Paris Games on Saturday he will not seek to remain in charge for a third term.
“New times are calling for new leaders,” the 70-year-old German lawyer, who has led the Olympic movement since 2013, told a session of IOC members in the French capital.
Bach said he was asked to stay in his role but insisted he would not attempt to extend his mandate by changing the Olympic charter that limits the president to a maximum of 12 years in the role.
“I know with this decision I am disappointing many of you… But it is in the best interests of our beloved Olympic movement,” he told the IOC delegates.
His successor will be elected during the IOC’s 143rd session in Greece on March 18-21, 2025.
The jostling to succeed Bach will now begin, with some well-informed IOC watchers tipping Zimbabwean former swimmer Kirsty Coventry, 40, for the role.
Nicole Hoevertsz, a 60-year-old former synchronised swimmer and IOC vice-president from Aruba, has also been cited as a possible contender along with World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe, a British two-time Olympic gold medallist over 1500 metres.
It is understood that Prince Feisal of Jordan, who is an IOC Executive Board member, will also be a candidate.
Bach, who won gold for West Germany in the foil fencing team event at the 1976 Olympics, was elected an IOC member at the age of 37 and went on to play a series of influential roles within the organisation.
