Others

Sebastian Coe, the former Olympic champion and current World Athletics chief, has emerged as the frontrunner in the race to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Coe faces stiff competition from Kirsty Coventry, who aims to become the first woman and African to lead the IOC, and cycling boss David Lappartient.Coe's bid is complicated by IOC Ethics Commission rules that limit the retirement age for members and presidents to 74. Coe will turn 68 in September, and an eight-year mandate would extend beyond that age. However, there is room for maneuver to raise the retirement age.The election will take place at the IOC Session in Athens from March 18-21, 2025. Bach, 70, is stepping down after 12 years in office.Other candidates include Prince Faisal al-Hussein of Jordan, gymnastics chief Morinari Watanabe, Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior, and ski federation president Johan Eliasch.Under election rules, Coe, Eliasch, Lappartient, and Watanabe must resign as heads of their respective federations and seek re-election as individual members at the Athens Session.The candidates will present their programs to IOC members in January 2025. A transition period will follow the election, with the new president and team taking control in June.Bach's tenure has been marked by challenges, including the Russian doping scandal and the invasion of Ukraine. Coe has taken a stronger stance on banning Russian athletes than Bach, which has strained their relationship.Despite these challenges, Bach is credited with successfully navigating the IOC through the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring the Tokyo Games took place in 2021.Michael Payne, the IOC's former head of marketing, believes Bach has done an outstanding job. However, he warns that his successor faces significant challenges, including the increasing politicization of sport and the rapidly changing business and broadcast environment.

Track and field legend Sebastian Coe has hailed the emergence of an "extraordinary" group of athletes at the Paris Olympics, who have filled the void left by Jamaican sprint icon Usain Bolt.Bolt, an eight-time Olympic and nine-time world gold medalist, was a transformative figure in athletics, dominating the sprints during his illustrious career. Since his retirement in 2017, there has been speculation about who would step into his shoes as the sport's leading star.However, Coe believes that the narrative has shifted away from relying on a single athlete to carry the sport. "We are no longer a sport about one person," he said. "That one person was Herculean, that one person transformed the popularity of our sport for a very clear period of time, and he consistently did that."Coe compared Bolt's legacy to that of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. "You don't replace Muhammad Ali, you don't replace Usain Bolt," he said. "But I did say, 'Mark my words, other athletes will come through.'"The Paris Olympics showcased a remarkable depth of talent across various disciplines. Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, American 400m hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, and the US mixed 4x400m relay team all set world records. There were also 13 new Olympic records established.Coe highlighted the global reach of track and field, with athletes from 75 countries achieving top-eight finishes. He noted that 105 countries have now won Olympic medals in the sport's history."Tell me any other sport on the opening day of a competition is celebrating a medal for Ecuador," Coe said. "So that for me tells me the sport is moving in the right direction."Coe emphasized the importance of continuing to promote the sport and building on the momentum generated by the Paris Olympics. "We had our 105th country in the history of the Olympic Movement winning a medal in Paris and that has been sensational," he said. "It is really important we do not take our foot off the accelerator."