Britain’s Sir Craig Reedie is being lined up to take over as the new head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after his only rival appeared to rule himself out with his decision to stand to become President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
WADA is due to elect a new President to replace Australia’s John Fahey at the 2013 World Conference on Doping in Sport in Johannesburg between November 12 until 15.
The candidate will be nominated by the IOC with Sir Craig, a currently a member of the WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board, thought to be the choice of the Olympic Movement, who alternate putting forward a name to fill the role with the world’s Government, who help fund the organization.
Sir Craig, former chairman of the British Olympic Association, is a member of the IOC’s ruling Executive Board and is currently leading the Evaluation Commission analyzing the bids from Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.
His only rival was considered to be Denis Oswald, the President of FISA, the world rowing federation, but his decision to run to replace Jacques Rogge as head of the IOC would appear to rule him out of the running.
“We are going to access the situation and make notes on candidates in the near future,” said Rogge at the Lenexpo Exhibition Complex in St Petersburg here today following the conclusion of the three-day IOC Executive Board meeting.
“We will most likely do this at our IOC Executive Board meeting in Moscow in August or at the IOC Session in Buenos Aires in September.
“There is no stringent deadline for this nomination though.
“WADA want to know by October so we will decide it before then.”
Sir Craig, 73, would be the second chairman of WADA nominated by IOC.
He would follow in the footsteps of Dick Pound, the controversial Canadian lawyer who held the position from when WADA was set-up in 1999 until he was replaced in 2008 by Fahey, the former Premier of New South Wales.
Fahey’s period in charge has been marked by a high-profile row with the International Cycling Union (UCI) over who was responsible for seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong being able to evade detection for all of his career despite having subsequently admitted using banned performance-enhancing drugs throughout it.
“I have been asked about the Presidency,” Sir Craig told insidethegames here.
“This is an appointment made by the Olympic Movement and if asked I would be happy to help.”
Contact the writer of this story at tom.degun@insidethegames.biz. To follow him on Twitter click here. Inside the Games is an online blog of the London Organizing Committee that staged the 2012 London Games. The blog continues to cover issues that are important to the Olympic Movement. This article is reprinted here with permission of the blog editors.