Rogge to seek re-election

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge informed his organisation's members yesterday he intended to stand for a second term in office, the IOC said.

IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said the 66-year-old Rogge, first elected in 2001 for an eight-year term, had sent a letter to all members saying he would run for a second term during the election to be held next year in Copenhagen, Denmark.

No other IOC member has announced their intention to run for the position of president and Rogge is likely to win unopposed.

Senior IOC members welcomed his decision.

"This is the right decision because eight years is too short and 12 years is enough time for him to complete his work," IOC vice president Lambis Nikolaou told Reuters.

Nikolaou said there would not be another candidate.

"When an acting president is up for re-election there has never been anyone standing against him and this will be the case next year as well," Nikolaou said.

Rogge had said success or failure of this summer's Beijing Olympics would largely dictate his decision on running again.

The Games turned out to be a financial success for the IOC, whose revenues are set to continue to grow into the next four-year period despite the global economic downturn.

The IOC was under constant criticism for awarding the Games to China given the country's human rights record. Rogge had defended the IOC's decision saying the Games were a force for good.

Rogge, a Belgian, succeeded Juan Antonio Samaranch as only the eighth IOC president since the organisation was founded in 1894, two years prior to the first modern Games.

His second term, should he win, will only be for four years following changes to the duration of the president's term since the time of Samaranch, who spent 21 years as IOC chief.