Competition for the most powerful post in sports, the International Olympic Committee's presidency has already been wrapped in club secrets and Byzantine regulations from 130 years ago, and has become a stranger as the day of decision-making is approaching.
The Smear Campaign is targeting some of the key candidates on the final day before the vote scheduled for Thursday in Costa Navarino, Greece. This past weekend, social media posts and lesser known websites spread crazy claims of previous behavior by the two candidates without providing evidence or citing. Neither the IOC nor the candidate publicly commented, but the allegations were reclaimed for gossip at the IOC gathering.
A few days ago, an anonymous author emailed the IOC's Chief Ethics Officer, reviewed by the New York Times, a complaint outlining a different set of allegations (potential campaign rules violations) without naming a particular candidate. The complaints were detailed enough to rattle campaign and committee staff.
An IOC spokesman said questions raised in the email were being considered on Wednesday and are quite a routine issue.
Some officials, along with candidate aides, have rejected online and email claims as the kind of disinformation campaign the Olympics have faced in recent years. However, personal sensational claims and targeting have created deep anxiety in the election of new leaders.
The winner will soon be managing his relationship with the sporting movement with the convulsing world. One of the first ports of calling the new president is the Trump White House ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The new leaders will need to manage their relationship with the Russian Olympic Committee, which was banned from the Paris Games over Russia's invasion of Ukraine last summer and previously banned from several Olympics due to systematic doping. It also maintains the link between the Olympic movement with the challenges of volatile and politically sensitive discussions about transgender athletes. In a rapidly changing world.
However, this role awards a great position. Winners are recognized worldwide and courted by world leaders.
Given those interests, the final time before the votes go quiet political madness comes before votes where almost the entire Olympics at Greece's gorgeous beach resorts are likely to go through several rounds before the majority of the IOC behind any of the seven candidates.
“I don't know if we'll win or lose the vote, but I can promise to work until 3:59:59pm tomorrow afternoon.” His father led the IOC for 20 years until 2001, shaping much of what it became.
Another major candidate, UK Sebastian Coe, was all smiles as it circulated among IOC members on Wednesday. “I'm in good condition, but it's just lunch,” he told reporters.
With enthusiasm for the advantage, the elegant campaign has become much more rigorous and more personal.
Many of the attacks were anonymous or private, but not all. This week's Sunday Times in London released Samaranche's profile under a headline called “Fascist Son and Chinese Friend.” His father supports the long ago Franco dictatorship, with two Chinese IOC members on the board of the foundation, named after Elder Samaranche.
One of his rivals, the campaign for Zimbabwe's Kirsticoventry, is plagued by claims that resigning leader Thomas Bach is secretly putting on canvas on her behalf. Coventry, a former gold medal-winning swimmer, is the only woman in the field.
Bach refused to directly answer questions about his involvement at a press conference Monday. After helmed, he is not qualified to run again.
Perhaps most famous competitors are former gold medalist track star, former MP and chief organizer of London's successful 2012 Olympics. He was also the most vocal and critical of Russia.
The COE has been criticized for seeking advice from Andy Coulson, a political operative and former editor who was incarcerated in connection with the major telephone hacking scandal that led to the shutdown of Britain's top selling newspapers. “I'm pleased that Cebu helped me with his manifesto,” Coulson said in a message.
Other candidates include Prince Faisal bin al-Hussain, the brother of the king of Jordan. Johann Eliasch, principal of a sports goods company and president of international skiing and snowboarding.
It is unclear what will happen if election violations become clear. Banky Moon, the former UN Secretary-General who leads the IOC's Ethics Committee, told the New York Times in a brief conversation that his group had shrugged “probably two” complaints and said “the election is tomorrow.”
