MOSCOW, August 10, Alena Sulizova. Olympic speed skating champion Svetlana Zhurova, in a conversation with, called the Vice President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. the ideal candidate for Russia for the post of president of the organization.
On Saturday, the 142nd IOC session was held in Paris, at which the current head of the organization, Thomas Bach, announced that he would not seek re-election for a new presidential term.
«The ideal option for us would be (Antonio) Samaranch, who has always been neutral, has always been for sport. We need a person who is ready to work for sport. But I admit whoever the next candidate might be, there will be nothing good in this for us,» Zhurova said.
In October 2023, at the 141st IOC Session in Mumbai, a number of members of the organization proposed changing the Olympic Charter for the sake of Bach's re-election for a third presidential term. The chairman of the IOC Ethics Commission, Ban Ki-moon, said that the head of the organization was recommended to postpone the decision on re-election until after the 2024 Games in Paris. The IOC presidential election will be held in March 2025.
Bach is 70 years old. He has headed the IOC since 2013. In 2021, he was re-elected for a four-year term, which, in accordance with the Olympic Charter, should be his last.