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Philippines, 19 Mar 2026 |
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THOMAS BACH OF GERMANY IS THE NEW IOC PRESIDENT By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Wed, 11 Sep 2013  Bach. Thomas Bach of Germany has been elected as the ninth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to succeed Jacques Rogge of Belgium who served for 12 years as IOC president. Bach who was favored to win and reportedly had the support of Rogge was elected following two rounds of votes at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Manila Standard received a news release from the IOC stating that Bach was chosen over fellow presidential candidates, Olympic pole vaulter and world record holder Sergey Bubka of the Ukraine, Richard Carrion (Puerto Rico), Ser Miang Ng (Singapore), Denis Oswald (Switzerland) and International Amateur Boxing Association president Ching-kuo Wu (Chinese Taipei). Bach replaces Rogge, whose 12-year tenure officially ends at the close of the 125th IOC Session today. The President is elected by the IOC members by secret ballot for a term of eight years, with the possibility to stand for re-election for a second, four-year term. In the first round of voting Bach received 43 votes while Carrion got 23, Bubka 8, Oswald 7, while Ser Niang Ng and Ching kuo Wu were tied with 6 votes apiece. In a Round I tiebreak vote Ser Miang Ng received 56 votes and Ching-kuo Wu 36. In Round 2Round Thomas Bach tallied 49 votes, Carrion 29, Ser Miang Ng 6, Oswald 5 and Bubka 4. Following his election the former IOC vice president Bubka said ?Thank you very much to all of you. Let us, this great universal orchestra of IOC members, play together in harmony towards a bright future for the Olympic Movement under the leadership of the IOC.? In his manifesto titled ?Unity in Diversity?, the new International Olympic Committee president ?this motto reflects my thinking about our Olympic Movement. Bach said that in the manifesto the members ?will see how it influences my views on the IOC and Olympism. You will also read about some ideas for an even brighter future for our Olympic Movement, ideas which I have developed after speaking with and listening to you for many years. Of course I cannot address all issues of importance here but I want to share with you at least some guiding principles which I would like to follow if you would grant me the great honor and the great responsibility of serving the IOC as its President. Bach noted that ?Unity in Diversity? means first of all respect for different cultures, gender, social backgrounds, perceptions, attitudes and opinions. There is not just one single true concept for the future of the IOC. The secret of the Olympic magic is diversity and universality in all aspects. This universality and diversity we have to preserve and even enhance in all our activities whether with regard to our structure, the Olympic Games, our educational, cultural and social projects. To achieve ?Unity in Diversity? it needs transparency, dialogue and solidarity. Transparency is the foundation of any real dialogue. Participants in such a dialogue need to have the same level of information to reach a fair result. At the same time, transparency is also a prerequisite for making decisions that all interested parties can understand. Dialogue among ourselves is the key to shaping the Olympic future together, balancing interests, and finding reasonable solutions. This kind of internal dialogue means, first of all, dialogue with and among the Members, dialogue between the IOC and the NOCs and IFs. Dialogue also means to open up to our modern society and to interact with the realms of culture, politics, education, business, media, science, etc. We need this input, because sport is no longer an island in the sea of society; it is an integral, highly respected, and popular part of society. We can be proud and happy that the IOC represents such a fascinating diversity in expertise. Therefore, open dialogue among ourselves and with other segments of society will produce new ideas and progress for our Olympic Movement. Solidarity is essential to achieve results of such dialogue, respected by all stakeholders. We urgently need solidarity in order to achieve true universality, to give a fair chance to each and every Member of our Olympic Family, regardless of gender, and to keep us free of discrimination of any kind. We need solidarity among IFs and NOCs, which can be facilitated by well reflecting the fact that they have the same members: the national federations. We need solidarity among sports, among countries and nations as well as among athletes. By showing solidarity in a transparent and open dialogue we will achieve unity and loyalty. Such unity puts us in an excellent position to cope with the many challenges we can already see on the horizon: to ensure the uniqueness of the Olympic Games, to analyse our structure, including the age limit, to balance well the interests of our stakeholders, to safeguard our responsible autonomy, to reach out to the youth, to live up to our social responsibility, to be relevant in a world that changes faster than ever. I am confident that together we can and will lead our Olympic Movement to a bright future. To accomplish this, we need each of us to contribute and participate. Therefore this position paper cannot be a final document; rather, it should inspire you to express your ideas and comments. Most of the advice you have graciously offered to me in our many years of co-operation and friendship has already been incorporated ? more is welcome at any time. Our many conversations, my fellow IOC Members, have shown me not only that we share a passionate dedication to the Olympic Movement and sports, but also that we need continuity through evolution rather than revolution to steer our proud ship toward new shores. We have already achieved much in past years, so we can build our future on a strong foundation and represent our Olympic Movement with confidence and pride.? Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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