Thomas Bach new IOC president in succession to Jacques Rogge
First German elected IOC president
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- German Thomas Bach is the new president of the International Olympic Committee
- Bach succeeds Belgian Jacques Rogge who is stepping down after 12 years in charge
- Bach won on the second round of voting among 94 members of the IOC
- Five other candidates, including Sergey Bubka, contested the election
Bach won on the second
round of voting, beating off the challenge of five other contenders for
the top job in the Olympic organization.
He has been elected for
an initial eight year term to succeed the 71-year-old Rogge, who has
stepped down after 12 years in charge.
Bach paid tribute to
Rogge as he addressed IOC members following his election. "You are
leaving a great legacy and a strong foundation on which we can continue
to build the future of the IOC," he said.
"This is an overwhelming
sign of trust and confidence," added Bach, who is the ninth president in
the 119-year history of the IOC.
Ukrainian athletics great
Sergey Bubka, Singapore's Ng Ser Miang, Wu Ching-Kuo of Taiwan,
Switzerland's Denis Oswald and Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico were the
unsuccessful candidates.
Bach achieved a majority
in the second round by polling 49 votes. Carrion was the next best with
29. Former world pole vault champion Bubka received just four.
"I want to win your
confidence too," said Bach, referring to his beaten opponents. "I know
of the great responsibility of being president of the IOC."
The 59-year-old Bach is a
lawyer by profession, but represented West Germany at the 1976 Olympics
in Montreal, winning a gold medal in fencing's foil discipline.
He was one of four IOC
vice-presidents, having been a member since 1991, serving during this
period on the anti-doping commission.
An outspoken critic of
doping, Bach commissioned an academic report, published in July, which
alleged that like their East German neighbors, West German athletes had
also been involved in malpractice during the Cold War and before the
unification of the two countries.
His first task in
succeeding Rogge will be to steer the IOC through the 2014 Winter Games
in Sochi, which has been dogged by controversy of Russia's new anti-gay legislation, concerns over budget and fears of warm weather.
Under rules adopted in
by the IOC in 1999, which ended lifetime terms for its delegates and
presidents, Bach will initially serve for eight years, with the
possibility of one further term of four years.
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