By Nick Butler

IOC vice-president Nawal El Moutawakel was honoured by the Senegalese Government ahead of the meeting ©AFP/Getty ImagesApril 15 - International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president Nawal El Moutawakel has refused to rule out a bid for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Presidency when questioned after a gala dinner in Senegal.

El Moutawakel, who was awarded the prestigious Commander of the National Order of the Lion honour by Senegalese President Macky Sall beforehand, is an IAAF council member and a 400 metres hurdles Olympic champion at Los Angeles 1984. 

When asked by local reporters whether she was considering a bid for the Presidency, she replied: "Nothing is impossible, everything is possible."

With current IAAF head Lamine Diack due to step down next year, Moroccan El Moutawakel is one of several candidates for the position along with the likes of IOC Executive Board member and IAAF vice-president Sergey Bubka of Ukraine. 

But the outstanding candidate is another IAAF vice-president in Britain's Sebastian Coe, the former three-time Olympic champion and London 2012 Organising Committee head who is seen as having the personal backing of Diack as well as much of the athletics community. 

The fact that El Moutawakel is also head of the IOC Coordination Commission for Rio 2016 at a time when Rio has received huge criticism for being behind schedule in almost all aspects of preparations, also means she would have her work cut out to combine the two roles.  

Current IAAF President Lamine Diack (left) during the SportAccord Convention last week in Turkey ©ITGCurrent IAAF President Lamine Diack (left) during the SportAccord Convention last week in Turkey ©ITG



The dinner, attended by Senegalese Sports Minister Mbagnick Ndiaye and Senegalese Athletics Federation President Momar Mbaye among numerous other dignitaries, was held ahead of the IAAF Council meeting in Diack's home city of Dakar.

This will be Diack's final Council meeting in the city before he stands down next year. 

"It is a source of great pride and satisfaction for me to be able to welcome my colleagues from the Council to Dakar for the last time, because the next few editions are set for Monaco and Beijing, and I will then step down as President in August 2015," he said.

"I have known some of my Council friends since 1976 when I first arrived at the IAAF Council, as senior vice-president, and others more recently.

"But I wanted to say a sincere thank you to them all for the hard work, sacrifice and dedication they show on a daily basis in service of the sport of athletics.

"For this reason, I am very happy that the President of the Republic of Senegal has granted Nawal El Moutawakel with the medal of Commander of the National Order of the Lion, and will also welcome eight other senior members of Council to the Palace to receive National Orders.

"This demonstrates the deep respect and affection held for the sport of athletics by my Government," he added.

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