Sebastian Coe confirmed as one of seven candidates to become IOC president

Sebastian Coe is officially in the running for the biggest job in global sport after being confirmed as one of seven candidates fighting to be the next International Olympic Committee president.

But Coe, a double Olympic champion and president of World Athletics, will face a tough challenge against six other runners and riders, including a seven-time Olympic champion, a prince of a Middle East kingdom and the son of a former IOC president. The global leaders of cycling, gymnastics and skiing also are in play.

There had been suggestions that the 67-year-old Coe, who is president of World Athletics, could be too old for the job under the IOC’s opaque rules which require some members to step down at 70. However, on Monday the IOC confirmed Coe could apply for a four-year age limit extension in 2026.

The IOC also made clear that another potential barrier – the need to be an IOC member for a full term of office – could also be cleared with the approval of an IOC session.

Coe, who is in Australia, is yet to comment on the news. But last month he set out his considerable experience for the job.

“I have chaired an Olympic Games from bid to delivery and two years of legacy after that,” he said. “I have been privileged to compete in two Olympic Games. I have chaired a national Olympic committee, and I now have the best job in the world as president of the number one Olympic sport.”

Coe is one of the favourites but his path to the top job is made harder having fallen out with the current IOC president, Thomas Bach, over World Athletics’ decision to ban Russia for state-sponsored doping.

Bach is expected to throw his weight behind Kirsty Coventry, the former Zimbabwean swimmer, who is bidding to become the first woman to ever become IOC president.

A bigger challenge still could come from the Spaniard, Juan Antonio Samaranch, the IOC’s well-connected and respected vice president, whose father was president from 1982 to 2001.

In a statement, Samaranch insisted that his candidacy was “built on a commitment to continue the legacy” of Bach in a time of uncertainty and change.

“The IOC and Olympic movement have made enormous strides over the past decade under the leadership of Mr Bach,” he added. “The IOC now needs a new leader with deep experience of the Olympic movement who can help steer it through this period of upheaval.”

David Lappartient, the president of cycling’s governing body, Morinari Watanabe who heads gymnastics, and Johan Eliasch, the president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation are also standing.

All seven met a deadline of Sunday to send a letter of intent to Bach, who must leave the post next year after reaching the maximum 12 years in office.

As part of the election they are required to present their programmes, on camera, to the full IOC membership on the occasion of a meeting to be held in Lausanne in January 2025.

The vote for the presidency will then be held at the 143rd IOC session from 18-21 March 2025 in Greece.