President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach said on Monday that he would not “dismiss out of hand” recent requests for him to continue in the position beyond the expiration of his current term in 2025.
The German was elected in 2013 for a first eight-year term and then again in 2021 for a second four-year term.
A revision to the Olympic Charter’s present two-term restriction would be necessary to allow the 69-year-old former Olympic fencing champion to hold the position beyond 2025.
On the other hand, at a current IOC session meeting in Mumbai on Sunday, a number of Committee members asked Bach to continue.
“I had heard some rumors before, and some members wanted me to continue my mandate, but I did not expect this would come to the session,” Bach said at a news conference on Monday.
“They were primarily driven by two reasons. A few of these colleagues believe that early elections will impede the Olympic movement’s preparations for the crucial Paris 2024 Games.
Bach continued, “They also wanted to express their recognition for the work accomplished by the IOC in the last 10 years and wanted to show their strong support.” During his tenure in office, Bach has worked to streamline and reduce the cost of the Olympic Games bid and staging process.
In his role as IOC president, Bach has had to deal with a number of challenging issues, such as the Russian doping crisis that followed the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
He also oversaw the IOC’s reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic-related year-long postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
And he recently found himself reacting to the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the Olympic movement, which is a concern for many international sports federations.
In an effort to prevent the IOC president from serving for as long as the previous president Juan Antonio Samaranch did, who presided over the organization for 21 years between 1980 and 2001, term limitations were put in place.
I think it’s normal that I was so moved and grateful for this display of friendship and support for me, stated Bach.
“For these reasons, it is important that you do not dismiss such a thing out of hand; it is a matter of mutual respect and personal relationships.”
Bach stated that his response will not be made public “over the media”.
He said, “This has to be reviewed with the relevant parties.