Dr Jacques Rogge, a quiet-spoken surgeon from Ghent, became the most powerful figure in world sport yesterday when he was convincingly elected to be the eighth president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He succeeds Juan Antonio Samaranch.
The decision took just two rounds of voting. The American Anita de Frantz was eliminated in the first round. With all the votes in on the second round, Samaranch declared there had been a winner and asked the IOC members to board buses to the Hall of Columns for the announcement.
The result marks a coup for the Belgian orthopaedist who would have been considered an outsider to Richard Pound of Canada a couple of years ago. The abrasive Pound's chances of ever becoming president appeared to have vanished yesterday when he came in third in the voting. Rogge is elected for an eight-year term with an additional four-year term available should the IOC choose.
"I am overwhelmed," Rogge said immediately afterwards, "but I want to start my work tomorrow." Asked to identify his priorities Rogge paid tribute to his predecessor while also touching on what many felt was Samaranch's principal failures, the battles against doping and IOC sleaze.
"I think first we must work to consolidate the legacy which has been left to us by president Samaranch. That is important. Then we must innovate to adapt to changes in society. Third, I will devote all my energy to defending the credibility of sport as it is attacked by doping and corruption. The next challenge for the Olympic movement is to help our friends in America have a very successful winter Games in Salt Lake City."
Rogge's margin of victory was as handsome in the end as his supporters had been predicting. On the second round he won 59 votes compared to 23 for Kim un-Yong and 21 for Dick Pound.
Kim un-Yong, having campaigned strongly before getting to Moscow, had a disastrous week here. First a keynote speech of support from the talented German administrator Thomas Back failed to materialise. Then Judge Keba Mbaye of Senegal rose on behalf of the IOC's Ethics Commission and announced that a complaint had been received from a member about the rumoured promise of $50,000 per annum per IOC member which Kim was proposing to enhance the ambassadorial role of the IOC nabobs. Mbaye said that nothing concrete had been found to indicate a breach of electoral rules but Kim's name being linked once again to the sensitive business of ethics sent a shudder down many spines.
Even his most ardent admirers would accept that Rogge lacks the scrappy political skills of his predecessor. The past week of lobbying in Moscow appears to have aged him 10 years but what he brings to his new job is a patient style of consensus building, a non-confrontational approach and a sporting outlook which places a high value on the battle against doping.
He is fortunate, too, perhaps in that the organisation he inherits is undoubtedly in better shape than when Samaranch took control in this city 21 years ago.
Samaranch has presided over an explosion in Games participation and expanded the number of sports competing. Remarkably, he has triumphed by setting the Olympics aside from global politics and by eliminating the tensions which used to exist between the IOC, national Olympic committees and sports federations.
Yesterday's result has immediate ramifications for Pat Hickey, the IOC member in Ireland. Rogge has been president of the European Olympic Committee since 1989, and having seen off Hickey in a vote at Stockholm four years ago, Rogge has since become close to the Irishman and his first official duty next week will be to open the European Youth Olympics at Murcia in Spain. Greeting him on behalf of the European organising committees will be Hickey as interim president of the European organisation. Hickey, along with Italian sports minister Mario Pescante, worked closely with Rogge over the past few months and Rogge was a visitor to Ireland several weeks ago where he addressed Irish sports federations.
When the European Olympic Committee meets in Monte Carlo in November, Pescante is likely to become European president with Hickey tagged for the task of secretary general/treasurer in control of a $28 million annual budget.
Hickey declared himself "extremely pleased", with yesterday's vote, which "would be a boost for the Olympic movement both in Europe and in Ireland."
Not so happy was former Swiss premier Adolf Ogi who was one of seven candidates up for membership of the IOC. Ogi, now a sports envoy with the UN, flew into Moscow yesterday morning to learn his was the only name among the seven to have been rejected by the IOC electorate. Apparently, the IOC drew the line at having a seventh Swiss member but not at having another Juan Antonio Samaranch. On his last day, one of president Samaranch's tasks was to welcome his son Juan Antonio Jnr to the ranks of the world's most exclusive club.
