U.S. loses only seat on IOC executive board
TURIN, Italy — The United States was left without a voice on the Olympics’ most influential body Friday when Jim Easton lost his seat on the IOC executive board.
Easton, an outgoing IOC vice president, was defeated 57-36 by South Africa’s Sam Ramsamy in the final round of a secret ballot.
Another American, Anita DeFrantz, withdrew earlier as a candidate to give Easton a better chance of retaining a spot on the policy-making body.
Easton himself earlier pulled out of the running for the IOC vice presidency to contest the regular seat on the 15-member board.
The result was another sharp setback for U.S. interests in the European-dominated International Olympic Committee. On Thursday, the IOC rejected bids for reinstatement of two traditional American sports — baseball and softball — at the 2012 London Olympics.
The last time the United States had no member on the board was a seven-month transition period between the end of DeFrantz’s term as vice president in July 2001 and Easton’s election in February 2002. Otherwise, there had been a continuous U.S. presence on the body since 1989.
The next chance for a U.S. member to get elected to the board will be at the 2007 IOC session in Guatemala.
The decline in U.S. influence is due to several factors, including anti-American sentiment, growing European control of the organization and the fallout from political turmoil and leadership changes at the U.S. Olympic Committee in recent years.
“The United States should be on the board, but there’s no rule,” Easton said. “The chips fall where they may when you have these elections. It’s just a confluence of events that come together. Sometimes you can’t beat it. I was disappointed. I let down the U.S. by not being able to keep a place on there.”
IOC president Jacques Rogge dismissed suggestions that the United States was no longer a major Olympic player.
“In my humble opinion, I believe that is not the case,” he said. “In the last 20 years the United States of America have organized three Olympic Games. This is a feat no other country has done.”
Germany’s Thomas Bach defeated Italy’s Mario Pescante 57-34 in Friday’s vice presidential vote. Pescante then won a regular spot on the board, defeating Easton and three other candidates.
Easton had one more shot to stay on the board, going against Ramsamy and Lebanon’s Toni Khoury for a seat unofficially reserved for an African member. Khoury went out in the first round, with Ramsamy beating Easton in the next.
“I’m very happy with the way the elections have been handled ... putting the interests of the IOC before personal interests,” Rogge said.
It’s virtually unheard of in IOC politics for two candidates from the same country to seek seats on the board at the same time, and DeFrantz had been under heavy pressure to withdraw in favor of Easton.
DeFrantz pulled out just before the start of the elections at the IOC’s general assembly on the eve of the Turin Games.
“There are two candidates from the same country,” she said. “In order to remove this difficulty from the session, I will remove my candidacy now. I hope to come back for another day.”
Easton took the floor to thank DeFrantz for “making this election a little easier for us.” He then withdrew from the vice presidential election, recognizing he had little chance of defeating Bach and Pescante, and put himself down for the regular board seat.
Easton has been an IOC member since 1994 and vice president since 2002. He’s the former president of the international archery federation.
DeFrantz, a 54-year-old former Olympic rower, has been a member since 1986. She became the first woman elected as an IOC vice president in 1997. She ran for the presidency in 2001, but finished a distant last in the four-person race.
Bach, a 52-year-old lawyer and former Olympic fencer, is a former vice president who heads the IOC’s legal commission. His victory Friday could position him for a future run for the presidency. Rogge’s eight-year term expires in 2009; he’s eligible for a second term of four years.
Five rank-and-file IOC members were also elected Friday, including International Tennis Federation president Francesco Ricci Bitti and former International Cycling Union chief Hein Verbruggen.
Bitti becomes Italy’s fifth IOC member, joining Pescante, Franco Carraro, Manuela di Centa and Ottavio Cinquanta. Only Switzerland currently has that many members.
Verbruggen, a Dutch lawyer, lost his IOC membership in September when he stepped down as president of the cycling federation. But, as executive vice president of the cycling body, he was eligible to regain his post. Verbruggen heads the IOC’s coordination commission for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Also elected Friday were Beatrice Allen of Gambia, Nicole Hoevertsz of Aruba and Prince Tunku Imran of Malaysia.
Easton, an outgoing IOC vice president, was defeated 57-36 by South Africa’s Sam Ramsamy in the final round of a secret ballot.
Another American, Anita DeFrantz, withdrew earlier as a candidate to give Easton a better chance of retaining a spot on the policy-making body.
Easton himself earlier pulled out of the running for the IOC vice presidency to contest the regular seat on the 15-member board.
The result was another sharp setback for U.S. interests in the European-dominated International Olympic Committee. On Thursday, the IOC rejected bids for reinstatement of two traditional American sports — baseball and softball — at the 2012 London Olympics.
The last time the United States had no member on the board was a seven-month transition period between the end of DeFrantz’s term as vice president in July 2001 and Easton’s election in February 2002. Otherwise, there had been a continuous U.S. presence on the body since 1989.
The next chance for a U.S. member to get elected to the board will be at the 2007 IOC session in Guatemala.
The decline in U.S. influence is due to several factors, including anti-American sentiment, growing European control of the organization and the fallout from political turmoil and leadership changes at the U.S. Olympic Committee in recent years.
“The United States should be on the board, but there’s no rule,” Easton said. “The chips fall where they may when you have these elections. It’s just a confluence of events that come together. Sometimes you can’t beat it. I was disappointed. I let down the U.S. by not being able to keep a place on there.”
IOC president Jacques Rogge dismissed suggestions that the United States was no longer a major Olympic player.
“In my humble opinion, I believe that is not the case,” he said. “In the last 20 years the United States of America have organized three Olympic Games. This is a feat no other country has done.”
Germany’s Thomas Bach defeated Italy’s Mario Pescante 57-34 in Friday’s vice presidential vote. Pescante then won a regular spot on the board, defeating Easton and three other candidates.
Easton had one more shot to stay on the board, going against Ramsamy and Lebanon’s Toni Khoury for a seat unofficially reserved for an African member. Khoury went out in the first round, with Ramsamy beating Easton in the next.
“I’m very happy with the way the elections have been handled ... putting the interests of the IOC before personal interests,” Rogge said.
It’s virtually unheard of in IOC politics for two candidates from the same country to seek seats on the board at the same time, and DeFrantz had been under heavy pressure to withdraw in favor of Easton.
DeFrantz pulled out just before the start of the elections at the IOC’s general assembly on the eve of the Turin Games.
“There are two candidates from the same country,” she said. “In order to remove this difficulty from the session, I will remove my candidacy now. I hope to come back for another day.”
Easton took the floor to thank DeFrantz for “making this election a little easier for us.” He then withdrew from the vice presidential election, recognizing he had little chance of defeating Bach and Pescante, and put himself down for the regular board seat.
Easton has been an IOC member since 1994 and vice president since 2002. He’s the former president of the international archery federation.
DeFrantz, a 54-year-old former Olympic rower, has been a member since 1986. She became the first woman elected as an IOC vice president in 1997. She ran for the presidency in 2001, but finished a distant last in the four-person race.
Bach, a 52-year-old lawyer and former Olympic fencer, is a former vice president who heads the IOC’s legal commission. His victory Friday could position him for a future run for the presidency. Rogge’s eight-year term expires in 2009; he’s eligible for a second term of four years.
Five rank-and-file IOC members were also elected Friday, including International Tennis Federation president Francesco Ricci Bitti and former International Cycling Union chief Hein Verbruggen.
Bitti becomes Italy’s fifth IOC member, joining Pescante, Franco Carraro, Manuela di Centa and Ottavio Cinquanta. Only Switzerland currently has that many members.
Verbruggen, a Dutch lawyer, lost his IOC membership in September when he stepped down as president of the cycling federation. But, as executive vice president of the cycling body, he was eligible to regain his post. Verbruggen heads the IOC’s coordination commission for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Also elected Friday were Beatrice Allen of Gambia, Nicole Hoevertsz of Aruba and Prince Tunku Imran of Malaysia.
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