(ATR) FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann and president of the World Underwater Federation Anna Arzhanova are the only two candidates for the SportAccord presidency.
Both submitted their applications to SportAccord by the Tuesday midnight deadline.
Baumann, IOC member from Switzerland and a member of the ASOIF Council, is the favorite to replace Gian-Franco Kasper. The ski federation chief took on the job on an interim basis last year following the resignation of Marius Vizer following his attack on the IOC at last year’s SportAccord Convention in Sochi.
The 48-year-old basketball leader is SportAccord’s treasurer and head of the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympics organizing committee. He is currently a member of the IOC’s marketing and athletes' entourage commissions.
Arzhanova of Russia, who has led the World Underwater Federation (CMAS) since 2013, has become increasingly influential in the Olympic Movement in the past two years.
At the Sochi SportAccord Convention last year, she won a dramatic election to become director of the ARISFCouncil at its general assembly, beating out the challenge of International Floorball Federation secretary general John Liljelund in the sixth round of voting.
In 2014, Arzhanova was elected to the board of the International World Games Association Board for a four-year term at the SportAccord Convention in Belek, Turkey.
Commenting on the presidential candidates, Nis Hatt, managing director of SportAccord Convention, told Around the Rings: "We welcome both candidates and are looking forward to having a democratic process in place at the election."
He said the candidates would each be allocated around 10 minutes to present their vision at the SportAccord general assembly on April 22 when elections will be held.
The new president will serve a four-year term as head of the umbrella association for Olympic and non-Olympic federations.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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