By Tom Degun at the Lenexpo Exhibition Complex in St Petersburg

Jacques Rogge 4May 29 - The battle to replace Jacques Rogge as International Olympic Committee (IOC) President looks set to between six candidates after other potential candidates confirmed here that they would not stand.


Germany's Thomas Bach, Singapore's Ng Ser Miang, Taiwan's C K Wu, Puerto Rica's Richard Carrion, Switzerland's Denis Oswald and Ukraine's Sergey Bubka have all confirmed that they plan to stand to replace Rogge when the Belgian steps down in Buenos Aires on September 10 this year following a 12-year reign.

The other two figures considered as potential candidates were Morocco's Nawal El Moutawakel and Switzerland's René Fasel, but both have ruled out the prospect, with deadline for the declaration of candidacies due on June 10, three months before the vote.

El Moutawakel, currently one of four IOC vice-presidents and chair of the Rio 2016 Coordination Commission, has been tipped to one day become the first female President of the organisation but she told insidethegames that she would not stand.

It is likely that the 51-year-old from Casablanca, who won gold in the 400 metres hurdles at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics, will look to stand for the position in the future but does not want to jeopardise her chances with a defeat in this year's race.

Nawal El Moutawakel Nawal El Moutawakel has confirmed that she will not enter the race to become the next IOC President

Fasel, an IOC Executive Board member and President of International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), has said publicly that he will not stand against Oswald and therefore will not enter the race.

On the June 10 deadline, the six candidates will become bound by the strict rules that govern IOC election races.

The winning candidate will become the ninth President of the IOC, following on from Demetrius Vikelas of Greece, Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France, Henri de Baillet-Latour of Belgium, Sigfrid Edström of Sweden, Avery Brundage of America, Lord Killanin of Ireland, Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain and now Rogge.

Seven of the eight have come from Europe, Brundage being the exception during Presidency from 1952 to 1972.

The expectation is Avery Brundage, who served as IOC President.

Of the current candidates, Bach, Bubka and Oswald represent Europe, Ng and Wu represent Asia and Carrion the Americas.

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