Safe change in canoeing, possible in gymnastics, none in rowing

SPORTS CENTER FEDERATIONS

Madrid, Nov 5 (EFE) .- Sure change, possible change or no change: with these three different scenarios, three historic international federations will hold this Saturday presidential elections, of those with the greatest Olympic tradition: canoeing, gymnastics and rowing.

The withdrawal of the Spanish José Perurena, in office for the last thirteen years (three terms plus an extra year due to the pandemic), guarantees that there will be a replacement in the presidency of the International Canoeing Federation (ICF), a sport that has been incorporated into the Olympic program in 1936.

The 167 affiliated federations will have to choose between the German Thomas Konietzko and the Russian Evgenii Arkhipov. The German, vice president since 2006, represents the continuity of the team that has worked with Perurena; The Russian businessman, who has presided over his country’s federation since 2008, decided to present himself at the last minute.

The ICF holds its congress in Rome.

In Antalya (Turkey) the immediate future of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) will be decided, which with the incorporation of seven new national federations will reach 156.

Japanese Morinori Watanabe, president since 2016, is running for re-election, but has found himself a rival with Azerbaijani Farid Gayibov, his country’s Minister of Youth and Sports and president of the European Gymnastics Union since 2017.

The Japanese has been accused of wanting to influence voters through the Japanese embassies, while Gayibov’s critics allege that his political position would prevent him from exercising the presidency with the dedication that gymnastics requires, one of the sports’ class A ‘of the Olympic program since 1896.

The president of the Spanish federation, Jesús Carballo, is up for re-election as a member of the FIG Executive.

Where there will be no change will be in World Rowing, the international rowing federation chaired since 2014 by Frenchman Jean-Christophe Rolland. He was already re-elected unopposed in 2017 and this time, in a congress that will be conducted telematically from Lausanne (Switzerland), he will not have a rival either.

Rowing has been an Olympic sport since the 1900 Paris Games and the federation has 156 affiliated countries.

After these three federations, fencing, weightlifting, modern pentathlon, skating and table tennis will also hold presidential elections before the end of the year. Most of the positions are currently being extended due to the inability to hold meetings in past months due to the pandemic.

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