Ireland Elects New Olympics Leader

(ATR) The era of Patrick Hickey comes to an end for the Olympic Council of Ireland. Three candidates are on the ballot to succeed Hickey as president of the national Olympic committee.

Elected in 1989, Hickey has served seven consecutive terms. But instead of presiding over the vote this evening at the Conrad Hotel in Dublin, Hickey will stay away. While the official reason for Hickey’s absence is recuperation from treatment for heart disease, Hickey’s appearance might be otherwise uncomfortable for the OCI. He is fighting charges in Brazil that he broke the law with the sale of tickets allocated to the OCI.

Hickey was arrested at the IOC hotel in Rio de Janeiro in the final days of the Rio Olympics and spent more than a month in jail. He was released but ordered to remain in Rio de Janeiro awaiting trial. Hickey eventually was able to post a $431,000 bond that allowed him to return to Ireland for medical care.

He denies any wrong doing and says he will contest the charges if prosecutors decide to bring the case to trial.

In the days after his arrest, Hickey suspended himself as OCI president as well as his membership of the IOC.

Willie O'Brien, OCI vice president, took over as interim president and is one of the three candidates nominated for the election. Brown has served as vice president for 12 years and is regarded as a close associate of Hickey.

Sarah Keane is the CEO for Swim Ireland and a former water polo player. She is currently a member of the OCI executive.

Bernard O’Byrne is the third candidate. He is former CEO of the Football Association of Ireland and presently is CEO of Basketball Ireland. He is not a member of the OCI executive.

There are 42 eligible voters with a majority required to win the election. The OCI will also elect new officers and executive committee members at the meeting.

Hickey, 71, sent a letter to the OCI to be read at the meeting to explain his absence and offer a recap of his tenure at the OCI. Excerpts of the letter have been published in the Irish media.

"Accordingly, the time has now come to pass the Irish Olympic torch to a new generation and I wish nothing but the best of luck and success to the new president, officers and executive committee of the OCI. From a personal point of view I am presently recovering from a recent medical procedure on my heart.

"I am sad to say I will not attend the EGM to say my personal farewell and thanks to you and my many colleagues and friends in the national federations but please be assured this will be done soon at the appropriate moment.

"I was so proud to see Olympic medals won by Irish athletes across a diverse range of sports including athletics, boxing,equestrian, rowing, sailing and swimming.

"Alongside this, on the international stage in 2012, I was fortunate and proud to be elected the second Irish man in history to sit on the Executive Board of the IOC after my great friend and mentor former OCI and IOC president Lord Killanin.

"It is also my privilege to represent Ireland as President of the European Olympic Committees and senior vice-president of the World Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) for the past 10 years.

"The benefits to Ireland of these positions were clear with my strong influence that saw women’s Boxing rewarded with its debut into the London 2012 Games with obvious benefits for Ireland not to mention the many Olympic scholarships availed of by Irish athletes in need of financial support for training and competition needs," says the letter from Hickey.

He notes that the OCI has "a positive bank balance of €2.3m last July and an enviable list of corporate sponsors which I had envisaged would be used on the ongoing development of young athletes and Olympic sport in Ireland."

Hickey does not mention the furor over his arrest, nor the financial hit the OCI is facing as a result. Legal expenses, professional inquiries into the management of the OCI and other expenses could mount to more than €1 million according to some reports.

Written by Ed Hula

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