Germany’s Thomas Bach elected IOC president
Succeeding Jacques Rogge, ex-Olympian becomes global sports body’s ninth president in its 119-year history.
Thomas Bach, an Olympic fencing gold medallist from Germany, has been elected the president of the International Olympic Committee, succeeding Jacques Rogge.
Bach, the long-time favourite, defeated five rival candidates in Tuesday’s secret balloting.
He secured a winning majority in the second round.
A former Olympic fencing gold medalist, Bach becomes the ninth president in the 119-year history of the IOC. He is the eighth European to hold the presidency.
In a ceremony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he was officially announced as the president, Bach said that he knows about the great responsibility of an IOC president.
“This makes me humble. I want to lead the IOC according to my motto, unity and diversity” he said.
Bach bowed slightly to the delegates to acknowledge the warm response and thanked the members in several different languages.
“This is a really overwhelming sign of trust and confidence,” Bach said.