Olympics: In for a Pound for IOC presidency
Monday, 2 April 2001Canadian lawyer Dick Pound today announced he is to stand in the election to be the next Olympic president, the most powerful position in world sport.
Pound, marketing supremo of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since the 1980s, is credited with helping transform the movement from an amateur operation to a multi-billion dollar business. He is the fourth person to announce he is to be a candidate, and is expected to be followed by South Korea's Kim Un Yong tomorrow.
They are vying to replace Juan Antonio Samaranch, who is retiring aged 81 after 21 years in the post. Pound, 59, an IOC member since 1978 is also president of the World Anti-Doping Agency. A former Olympic swimmer, will be a powerful candidate. He was appointed by Samaranch to lead the investigation into the Salt Lake City corruption scandal that rocked the movement. Although it led to six IOC members being forced out and four others resigning, some people claim it did not go far enough to root out the corruption that had become endemic in the movement.
Belgium's Jacques Rogge and Kim probably have more support than Pound among members. The other two candidates are American Anita DeFrantz and Pal Schmitt of Hungary, but they are seen very much as outsiders.
Filed by Pat Nugent
