(10 Sep 2013) Longtime favourite Thomas Bach was elected President of the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday, keeping the powerful sports body in European hands.
Bach, a 59-year-old German lawyer, succeeds Jacques Rogge, the Belgian who is stepping down after 12 years.
"It's the first time that an Olympic champion has been elected to be IOC President," Bach said after being announced as President, "And this is what you can expect, that I will put sport in the centre of all our attention."
Bach won gold at the Montreal Olympics in 1976 in fencing and heads Germany's national Olympic committee, becoming the ninth president in the 119-year history of the IOC.
Rogge said he was, "proud to be able to hand him over an IOC that is in a good state."
Bach defeated five rival candidates in the secret balloting.
He received 49 votes in the second round to secure a winning majority.
Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico finished second with 29 votes.
Carrion, who chairs the IOC's finance commission and negotiates lucrative US television rights deals, wound up being Bach's only serious challenger with 29 votes.
When asked by a journalist if he enjoyed the presidential campaign, he replied, "Well enjoying is not a word that comes to mind at this point, I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I had won the gold medal, there's no silver at this competition."
"I think I have to go on a diet now after all these lunches and dinners," the Puerto Rican banker said while laughing.
Bach received a standing ovation for nearly a full minute after Rogge opened a sealed envelope to announce his victory.
Bach bowed slightly to the delegates to acknowledge the warm response and thanked the members in several languages.
After Carrion the votes dwindled, with Ng Ser Miang of Singapore getting six, Denis Oswald of Switzerland five and Sergei Bubka of Ukraine four.
C.K. Wu of Taiwan was eliminated in the first round after an initial tie with Ng as low vote winner.
Bach's first big challenge will be the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, to be held 7-23 February.
The build-up has been overshadowed by cost overruns, security worries and an international outcry over a Russian law against gay "propaganda".
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