September 9 - Former World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President Dick Pound could be set for a return to frontline sports politics after putting himself forward as a late candidate to stand for election to the ruling Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) here tomorrow.
The 71-year-old Canadian is one of three candidates chasing two places that will serve under the new President, who is also due to be elected tomorrow.
Pound will face American Anita DeFrantz and Malaysia's Prince Tunku Imran.
One of the spots has been created by one of the six Presidential candidates, Singapore's Ser Miang Ng, being forced to step down following eight years on the Executive Board, the last four of which have been as vice-president.
His vice-president's position will be taken by Australian John Coates, who is standing unopposed and whose promotion has created the other spot on the Executive Board.
Pound and DeFrantz both stood unsuccessfully against Jacques Rogge when he was elected as President to replace Juan Antonio Samaranch in Moscow 12 years ago.
If he is successful it will be Pound's third spell on the Executive Board, having between 1983 and 1991 and 1992 to 2000, the last four years of which he was also vice-president.
The Montreal lawyer has largely stayed in the shadows of IOC politics since stepping down as head of the Marketing Commission in 2005, although he remained in the public spotlight as the controversial chief of WADA, a post he held between 1999 and 2008.
DeFrantz, 61,served as an Executive Board meeting between 1992 and 2001, the last four as vice-president.
But she is coming into the election having last week lost her position as vice-president of the International Rowing Federation after 20 years.
The final candidate is Tunku, 65, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation and former head of the World Squash Federation.
The 62-year-old Coates, meanwhile, will be only the second Australian to hold such a prestigious position within the IOC, following Kevan Gosper, who held the role twice, first between 1990 and 1994 and then again 1995 to 1999.
He has been a member of the IOC Executive Board since 2009.
"I am truly honoured that none of my colleagues have chosen to stand against me and looking forward to supporting our new President and ultimately the athletes we represent," said Coates, President of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) since 1990.
"I thank my senior IOC colleague, Kevan Gosper and my AOC Executive for the encouragement and support they have given me. Kevan is the only other Australian to have held the position and his support and continuing wise counsel means a great deal to me."
If Germany's Thomas Bach, one of the IOC's four other vice-presidents, or Executive Board members Taiwan's C K Wu or Ukraine's Sergey Bubka are elected as President then their position will be filled at the next IOC Session in Sochi next February.
The other candidates are Puerto Rico's Richard Carrion and Switzerland's Denis Oswald.