Home>News Center>Sports | ||
Swede becomes most powerful woman in sport
Sweden's Gunilla Lindberg has become the most powerful woman in sport after she was voted International Olympic Committee vice-president. The 57-year-old Swede -- the only candidate for the post -- was voted in by 95 votes to eight. The vacancy had been created by Germany's Thomas Bach who stepped down at the end of his four-year term. Lindberg becomes one of four vice-presidents below IOC chief Jacques Rogge, joining Russia's Vitaly Smirnov, Korea's Kim un-Yong, currently suspended following his jailing in Korea for corruption, and James Easton of the United States. "Taking on the role of vice-president is a big responsibility," the Swede told her fellow members on Wednesday. "I will work for the unity of the Olympic movement and Olympism that today is more important than ever." Married with two children, Lindberg becomes only the second female vice-president after America's Anita DeFrantz. She has enjoyed a long career in sports administration. She was made head of office of the Swedish Olympic Committee in 1969 before becoming assistant secretary-general in 1984 and secretary-general five years later. Made an IOC member in 1996, Lindberg joined the executive board in 2000 and has served on a number of commissions. Lindberg and Italy's Franco Carraro stepped down from the executive board, the organisation's decision-making body, creating two vacancies. These were filled by China's Yu Zaiqing and Puerto Rica's Richard Carrion. In a rubber-stamping exercise, Ukraine's Sergei Bubka was re-elected to the executive board, as was Mario Vasquez Rana of Mexico, Switzerland's Denis Oswald and Italian Ottavio Cinquanta. All four were re-elected on the grounds they represent organisations at the IOC, namely the Athletes, the National Olympic Committees, Summer and Winter International Federations. |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||