IOC President Thomas Bach "ready to run" for second term
The German has led the IOC since 2013 and is eligible for four more years as president.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach says he is prepared to run for a second four-year term as the head of the global organisation. An election for the position is due to be held in 2021.
Speaking at the 136th IOC Session held by videoconference on Friday, Bach told IOC Members: "If you, the IOC members, want I am ready to run for a second term as IOC president and to continue to serve you and this Olympic movement, which we all love so much, for another four years.
"I take your support more as an encouragement for the future to work even harder," he said.
The German has been IOC President since 2013 when he was elected for a first eight-year term at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires.
Bach beat Puerto Rico's Richard Carrión, Singapore's Ng Ser Miang, Swiss member Denis Oswald, Olympic pole vault champion Sergey Bubka, and Chinese Taipei's Ching-kuo Wu in that election.
He won 49 votes of a total 93 in the final round to succeed Belgium's Jacques Rogge as IOC President.
Bach is an Olympic champion; he represented West Germany in fencing and won a men's team foil gold medal at Montreal 1976. Prior to becoming IOC President the 66-year-old was President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation from 2006 to 2013.