February 13 - International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge (pictured left) has praised London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe (right) as a fantastic Organising Committee leader but admitted that it is beyond his capacity to make the double 1500 metres Olympic champion an IOC member.
Britain currently has four IOC members iwith Executive Board member Sir Craig Reedie, Athletes' Commission member Adam Pengilly, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Sir Philip Craven and the Princess Royal all currently serving.
The large British contingent means that Coe's most likely route into the organisation is to be elected President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) – a role that brings with it automatic IOC membership.
"The rules of the IOC to become a member are quite complicated," Rogge told insidethegames.
"For Sebastian Coe to become a member, he would need to become the President of the IAAF.
"That question though, is a bit hypothetical.
"I think that Sebastian Coe was a great athlete and that he is a great ambassador for sport.
"I also think that he is a fantastic President [sic] of the London 2012 Organising Committee.
"But what will happen in the future [with regard to Coe becoming an IOC member] is beyond my capacity."
Current IAAF President Lamine Diack (pictured right) is currently serving his last four-year term in the role and Coe, along with Ukraine's 1988 Olympic pole vault champion Sergey Bubka, are tipped as the two most likely candidates to replace the Senegalese when he steps down in 2015 as both are currently vice-presidents at the IAAF.
Should Coe become IAAF President in 2015, he would become an IOC member under a new President as Rogge will step down in the summer of 2013 when he completes his final term in the role.
By: Tom Degun
Source: www.insidethegamez.biz