Amateur boxing association president C.K. Wu of Taiwan officially entered his name on the ballot for the next IOC president, becoming the fourth world sports leader to step forward with a bid.
Wu made his announcement Thursday afternoon at a news conference in Taipei, saying that the goal of his time spent as the IOC’s next leader would be to “positively impact society” through sports and the Olympics.
“The thought and concept to develop the IOC and Olympic movement… is the core principle of my candidature,” Wu said during his announcement Thursday. “The IOC and the Olympic Games have more power to positively impact society than any other organization and project in the world.”
Wu joined the IOC in 1988, was a part of the coordination commissions for Nagano in 1998 and Beijing ten years later. He took over the AIBA in 2006 after controversies surrounding the event at the Athens Olympics led to the IOC withholding funds from the organization and has been credited with an impressive London tournament that saw women compete for the first time.
And on that note, Wu said one of his major goals during his reign would be to promote sports education as a way to help rid the Olympics and international events of doping, gambling, match-fixing and violence.
“I strongly urge that we concentrate more on education than ever before,” Wu added. “I truly believe there is no better solution to fighting these problems than providing young people with education early on.”
Wu joins IOC VPs Thomas Bach of Germany, Ng Ser Miang of Singapore, and IOC Finance Commission chair Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico who’ve all made public declarations of their candidacy. The group is expected to be joined by IIHF president Rene Fasel of Switzerland, among others.
