By Ossian Shine
PYLOS, Greece (Reuters) – Only one round of voting was required on Thursday to elect the next president of the International Olympic Committee with the winner to be announced within the hour.
The race for the most powerful job in world sport reached its conclusion just minutes after IOC members cast their ballots at a luxury seaside resort in Greece’s southwestern Peloponnese.
With just over 100 votes in play, seven contenders have been locked in a high-stakes battle to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the world’s wealthiest multi-sport organisation, which generates an estimated $7 billion per Olympic cycle.
Britain’s Sebastian Coe, Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry, and Spain’s Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. were widely seen as the frontrunners. Frenchman David Lappartient, Jordan’s Prince Feisal, Swedish-born Johan Eliasch, and Japan’s Morinari Watanabe completed the field.
(Editing by Toby Davis)
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