On the Scene in Lausanne - Vazquez Rana Succession Planning; Rio 2016 Update

IOC HQ Brimming with Meetings

As rain fell in Lausanne Tuesday, IOC headquarters was a busy place. Along with meetings of IOC commissions, a possibly contentious gathering of the ANOC Executive Council was underway.

The morning session of the Association of National Olympic Committees Executive Council meeting in Lausanne was spent hearing reports and conducting normal business, leaving the hot button issue for the afternoon.

That would be the issue of how NOC leaders want ANOC president Mario Vazquez Rana to handle his impending retirement from the IOC. Vazquez Rana, who turns 80 next year, will leave the IOC as well as his seat on the ruling Executive Board.

The 30-member Council will discuss a succession plan for Vazquez Rana.

Speaking privately, NOC officials confide to Around the Rings that a compromise is in the works. Under the proposal, the ANOC president will appoint someone to serve as ANOC EB representative, allowing Vazquez Rana to remain ANOC president through the end of his term in 2014, avoiding another showdown.

IOC members who have also asked not to be named to avoid conflicts with Vazquez Rana said he should step aside. One senior IOC member pointed out former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch was forced to step aside because of his age.

"If Samaranch couldn’t stay, how can Rana?" he asked.

New IOC Member Discussions

Olympians hoping to join the Athletes Commission at the 2012 Olympics will have their candidature approved by the Nominations Commission.

It's expected that the Commission, chaired by Francisco Elizalde, would release the final list of candidates this week.

Nominated by their NOCs, the candidates approved by the Nominations Commission will go on a ballot for election by athletes competing at the London Olympics. Top four vote-getters will become members of the Athletes Commission and IOC members for an eight-year term.

Japan hammer throw champion Koji Murofushi is one of those expected to make the ballot next year.

He would be in line to become an IOC memberafter both current Japanese members retire at the end of this year. As of Jan. 1, 2012 it will be the first time since 1909 that Japan will be without an IOC member.

A source close to the Japanese Olympic Committee tells ATR that if Murofushi fails to win election, IOC President Jacques Rogge has promised to see that a Japanese IOC member is nominated. That would mean an election at the 2013 IOC Session. With a campaign underway for the 2020 Olympic Games, Japanese sports leaders are eager to have an IOC member aboard leading up to the 2020 vote at the 2013 Session in Buenos Aires.

Rogge Meets with Rio 2016 Leaders

The deputy governor of Rio de Janeiro state, Luiz Fernando Pezão, paid a visit to Chateau de Vidy.

Along withRio 2016 president Carlos Arthur Nuzman, he met with the IOC president to discuss preparations for the 2016 Olympics. Pezão handles infrastructure and construction projects for the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Both Pezão and Nuzman said the meeting went well.

"We had the chance, besides showing the venues, the Olympic construction we could show the legacy" Pezão told ATR.

"Bringing legacy to the population of Rio de Janeiro, that’s what we are investing in and that’s what we have to do" he said. Pezão said there was no specific price for all the construction for the state, as it involves three layers of government but said there is an estimate of $20 billion for all works related to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Games.

About a dozen Brazilian media were present to report on the meeting.

Nuzman said the meeting was "a normal conversation with an authority that is responsible for one part of the construction of the Games". He added that Rogge is "happy and that’s life."

When asked what’s next for Rio 2016, Nuzman said news will come "in a couple days." He said it "may be" sponsor-related.

Written and reported in Lausanne by Ed Hula III.