Dick Pound, former vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced his candidacy in Montreal Monday for the position as president of the IOC.
At a press conference Pound said, “after 23 years as a member of the IOC, I am running for this office with genuine anticipation, secure in the knowledge that I have an even more important contribution to make to the movement and institution to which I have devoted my life”.
Pound, a Canadian, was an Olympic 100 meter freestyle finalist at the 1960 Rome Games. He was an IOC vice-president between 1987 and 1991 and again from 1996 until 2000.
Pound negotiates the IOC’s multimillion-dollar television and sponsorship deals. He recently headed the IOC investigation of the Salt Lake bribery scandal that resulted in 10 IOC members being expelled or resigning.
Pound joined the Canadian Olympic Associaton in 1968 and became its president in 1977. He was on the IOC the next year, and five years later was a member of the executive committee.
Pound is the fourth candidate to join the race, which includes Jacques Rogge of Belgium, Anita DeFrantz of the United States and Pal Schnmitt of Hungary. Kim Un-yong of South Korea is expected to announce his intentions on Tuesday.
