IOC President Thomas Bach to stand unopposed for second term

Thomas Bach will stand unopposed to be re-elected as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The organisation confirmed that the German will be the only candidate for the presidential election, which will be held in Athens during the 137th IOC Session, 10-12 March 2021.

"As decided by the IOC Executive Board, the elected President will take office after the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, which will take place from 23 July to 8 August 2021", the IOC said in statement.

"If re-elected, his term will end in 2025."

“I am honoured and humbled by the fact that there are no other candidates." Bach said. 

"I will continue to serve the Olympic Movement to the best of my abilities and will try to be a President for all the IOC Members and the entire Olympic Movement.”

Bach 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.

The German had said in July that he was prepared to run for a second term, for an additional four years as the head of the global organisation.

Speaking at the 136th IOC Session held by videoconference on Friday, Bach said: "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 added.

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.