IOC president Thomas Bach plans to leave office next year, says Olympics needs a change

IOC president Thomas Bach plans to leave office next year, telling the membership Saturday that the Olympics will be “best served with a change in leadership.”

Bach has led the International Olympic Committee since September 2013 and his 12-year presidency was to expire next year — a term limit introduced as part of anti-corruption reforms passed after the Salt Lake City bidding scandal 25 years ago.

Speculation has grown since last October that Bach could stay on after IOC members asked him to consider changing Olympic Charter rules that would end his leadership.

The 70-year-old Bach ended that speculation Saturday in Paris — saying the IOC needed a new leader who could steer the Olympic movement through an increasingly digital and politically pressured world.

An election is now scheduled when the 115-strong IOC membership next meets, from March 18-21 in Greece.

Bach said there would a transition period with his successor before he formally leaves in June.

The likely candidates include several members of the IOC’s executive board, including vice presidents Nicole Hoevertsz of Aruba and Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain, whose father was IOC president for 21 years until leaving in 2001 after the Salt Lake turmoil.

Board members Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan and former Olympic champion swimmer Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe are also likely to be nominated.

Head of World Athletics a contender

Sebastian Coe, the head of track and field’s governing body World Athletics, could be one of the most qualified contenders.

Coe was a two-time Olympic champion in the 1,500 meters, led the organizing committee of the 2012 London Olympics and is a former lawmaker in the British parliament.

It unclear if the 68-year-old Coe’s candidacy would comply with the IOC’s age limit of 70 for members elected since the Salt Lake City reforms.

Bach has increasingly been seen as promoting David Lappartient, the president of the International Cycling Union, in Olympic politics.

Bach gave Lappartient the lead in steering the Olympic body toward video gaming, which saw an Esports Olympic Games deal with Saudi Arabia announced last month. Lappartient also headed a French Alps bid for the 2030 Winter Games which was approved by IOC members on the eve of these Olympics.

In a message Saturday to whomever is his successor, Bach said he would “also be at your disposal with all my passion for our beloved Olympic movement.”