Seven candidates to contest election for IOC presidency

World athletics chief Sebastian Coe, multi-millionaire and Olympic newcomer Johan Eliasch and Zimbabwe's Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry are among seven candidates for next year's International Olympic Committee presidency election, the IOC said on Monday.

IOC vice president Juan Antonio Samaranch, son of the late former IOC president of the same name, international cycling chief David Lappartient, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan and international gymnastics federation head Morinari Watanabe are also in the running to succeed current president Thomas Bach.

The 70-year-old German is stepping down next year. The election will be held at the IOC session in ancient Olympia, Greece in March 2025.

The candidates will all present their programmes, behind closed doors, to the full IOC membership in January 2025.

The IOC, with 111 members currently, is in charge of the Olympic Games and the multi-billion dollar industry linked to the world's biggest multi-sports event.

Bach's departure comes with the organisation in a financially robust position, having secured $7.3bn for the years 2025-28 and $6.2bn already in deals for 2029-2032.

The president is elected to an eight-year first term with the possibility of a second term of four years if re-elected.

Coe, 67, only joined the IOC in 2020 after a rocky relationship between World Athletics and the IOC over his ban on Russian track and field athletes almost a decade ago, following the country's doping scandal.

A former Olympic champion with a wealth of experience in the sports world, Coe was previously head of the London 2012 Games and the British Olympic Association. He is also a former Conservative MP.

Coventry, 41, is the only woman running for president and the former Olympic swimming