Unopposed, Ireland’s Patrick Hickey was re-elected as the President of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) at the 42nd EOC General Assembly in Rome, which started with an address by IOC President, Thomas Bach.
“I am delighted to secure my third term as President of the European Olympic Committees with such powerful support from my colleagues across Europe’s National Olympic Committees.
The next part of my presidency will be particularly exciting as we move towards the inaugural European Games in 2015,” said Hickey, adding:
“I was also delighted that new IOC President, Thomas Bach, agreed to speak at our General Assembly. President Bach gave a strong and thought-provoking opening address to the assembly and I am very much looking forward to working closely with him in the years ahead.”
Patrick Hickey was the only candidate to stand for President and a third term was secured by a unanimous decision at the Rome Cavalieri Hilton hotel. Slovenia’s Janez Kocijancic was elected as a new EOC Vice-President, while Turkey’s Hasan Arat and Great Britain’s Lord Sebastian Coe were among 12 EOC members elected to the Executive Committee. “I am deeply honoured to have been elected to the EOC’s Executive Committee by my colleagues and friends at Europe’s National Olympic Committees,”said Lord Coe.
“This is an important time for the continued development of sport in Europe, with an unprecedented series of opportunities and challenges before us.”
This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.