Seven candidates and three favorites

No one can predict who will win the race. "It's too close to call," says Prince Feisal al-Hussein, more of an outsider among the candidates. The election will be held on Thursday lunchtime right next to the pompous pool complex of the Greek luxury resort Costa Navarino.

The procedure is reminiscent of a highly secret conclave at the papal election. The 111 IOC members entitled to vote, including the Swiss Gianni Infantino and Denis Oswald, lock themselves in for the duration of the vote. They must hand in their cell phones and all electronic devices. Only when one of the candidates has achieved an absolute majority will the doors to the hall open again. Thomas Bach will then announce the name of the tenth IOC President.

For outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach, the election of his successor is an expression of "our confidence in the future". The candidates did not have many opportunities to campaign. At the end of January, they were able to present their plans for a good 15 minutes. No questions were allowed.

"Is this the best way to choose our new leader? No," says co-favorite Sebastian Coe ahead of election day. Coe wants "more access, more openness". The British lord is the candidate who would probably organize the clearest break with Thomas Bach's policies. And that may speak against Sebastian Coe. "I hope that the IOC members will now also be guided by what they have achieved. And I have always delivered when I have tackled something," Coe recently told the "Süddeutsche Zeitung".

Coe took a long run-up to the IOC throne. The 1500m Olympic champion was a Member of Parliament, won the 2012 Summer Games for London and currently leads the World Association of Athletics Federations. At 68, however, he is also approaching the IOC age limit. A change in the rules would be required to be able to complete a first term of office of eight years.

Kirsty Coventry (41), who could be the first woman and the first representative from Africa to chair the IOC, is also one of the favorites. "Women are ready to lead. I see this as an opportunity to break down barriers," says the woman from Zimbabwe and former Olympic swimming champion. Coventry is a controversial sports minister in her home country; she has yet to make her mark on the IOC Executive Board. Internally, however, she is regarded as Bach's preferred candidate, whose line she would probably continue pretty seamlessly.

For those IOC members who do not yet trust Coventry with the job and are wary of Sebastian Coe's reform plans, Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. could be the right compromise candidate. As the son of a former IOC president, the 65-year-old Spaniard has a deep insight into the mechanisms of the ring circle and is very well connected. "I want to show that I can lead the IOC with a modern vision that fits today's world without having to measure myself against my father's legacy," said the financial expert. Samaranch sr. led the IOC from 1980 to 2001 and commercialized the Olympic Games. At the same time, however, this era was also characterized by corruption and scandals.

The other four candidates for the top IOC post are considered outsiders. Although cycling world federation boss David Lappartient has recently enjoyed a stellar career, he is still considered a newcomer to the IOC. Johan Eliasch is controversial as president of the Ski World Federation, Prince Feisal al-Hussein from Jordan seems rather colorless. Morinari Watanabe, who heads the World Gymnastics Federation, is unlikely to stand a chance with radical ideas such as the Olympic Games being held on five continents at the same time.