The Japan Gymnastics Association (JGA) secretary general claimed 100 of the 119 votes, with Guelzec, the head of the European Union of Gymnastics (UEG), receiving 19.

The 57-year-old becomes just the ninth President of the FIG since it was established in 1881 and will succeed Bruno Grandi, who had held the role for 20 years.

Watanabe is due to officially take charge on January 1, with the 82-year-old Italian's mandate coming to an end in December.

"Today we sent out a huge message," Watanabe said during his acceptance speech.

"Gymnastics is not just a sport of the Olympic Games.

"Together, we can be the king of sports."

Watanabe, who came into today's election as the clear favourite for victory, becomes the first Japanese President of an Olympic International Federation since Ichiro Ogimura led the International Table Tennis Federation from 1987 until his death at the age of 62 in 1994.

Perhaps the only surprise was the overwhelming margin of victory for the Japanese, who seems to have gained more support in Guelzec's own Union than was first anticipated.

The Frenchman admitted to insidethegames after the vote that the reason for the heavy defeat was the European vote had been "scattered".

Guelzec was largely hedging his bets on securing the majority of the backing from his home Union but less than half of those present chose him to be the next President.

The Asian vote appears to have held firm, though insidethegames was told some African Member Federations may have ticked the box for Guelzec, marking a further divide within the European membership.

Watanabe targeted improving the status of the organisation within the International Olympic Committee (IOC) - Grandi served as an IOC member from 2000 to 2004 but there is currently no FIG representation on the body - luring Tokyo 2020 sponsors to partner with the FIG and getting gymnastics to the number one spot on the list of global sports ahead of football as part of his election manifesto.

His quadrennial plan - entitled Concept is Family - also involves establishing a clear strategic promotion and public relations strategy to enhance the worldwide status of the governing body.

The Japanese is largely credited with the overhaul in gymnastics in his country after they failed to earn medals at Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.

Japan has won gymnastics medals at every Olympics since the appointment of the 57-year-old at the JGA in 2001, including at Rio 2016, where global star Kōhei Uchimura anchored his nation to the gold medal in the men's team event before he successfully defended his individual all-around crown.

The result marks the end of an election campaign which failed to spark into life until earlier this week, when the 68-year-old Guelzec critcised Watanabe's plan for the future of the sport ahead of a new era for the FIG in the wake of Grandi's impending departure.

Guelzec claimed his manifesto was unworkable and "you can't just give money away and expect it to work" - a clear attack on Watanabe's financial proposals.

The Japanese refused to enter a war of words, insisting only that "anything can happen - it is an election".

Guelzec had told insidethegames during the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Glasgow in October of last year that Watanabe would stand for the Presidency and that he had been campaigning for a year-and-a-half.

Watanabe initially denied the claims before announcing his candidacy in April of this year, while the Frenchman had been the first to declare back in January 2015.

The FIG has begun to take a new shape here today as three vice-presidents were elected following Watanabe's triumph.

Russia's Vasily Titov, the only incumbent in the race, was selected as first vice-president after securing 68 votes in the first round.

The Russian will be joined by five-time Olympic champion Nellie Kim of Belarus, who prevailed in the second round with 64, and China's Luo Chaoyi, who received 50.

Germany's Wolfgang William and Margaret Sikkens Ahlquist of Sweden were both unsuccessful in round two, while George Tatai of Australia and Venezuela's Zobeira Hernandez withdrew following the first round.

All three vice-presidents will take up a place on the Presidential Commission, soon to be chaired by incoming President Watanabe.

The FIG's ruling Executive Committee has also undergone sweeping changes with the election of seven members.

Incumbent Ali Al-Hitmi of Qatar successfully retained his place, with outgoing FIG Athletes' Commission chair Jani Taskanen of Finland, Britain's Martin Reddin, Kim Dong-min of South Korea, Youssef Altabbaa of Syria, Ron Galimore of the United States and Jesus Carbello Martinez of Spain claiming the other six spots.

The elections took place following speeches from the retiring Grandi, as well as IOC President Thomas Bach.