The Taiwanese contender for the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) presidency is a frontrunner in the six-man race, according to unfinished online polls.
A survey by sports Web site aroundtherings.com shows that Wu Ching-kuo (吳經國), 66, has garnered 43.76 percent of the votes cast in the popularity rating so far, leading the second-highest hopeful, Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka, 49, by 14.24 percentage points.
The poll, which has no deadline, does not specify total votes.
Photo: CNA
Wu’s popularity could be due to his experience in sports circles — he has served for more than 25 years on the IOC and has headed the International Boxing Association for the past seven years.
Rounding out the list are Germany’s Thomas Bach (8.15 percent), Puerto Rico’s Richard Carrion (7.88 percent), Singapore’s Ng Ser-miang (5.99 percent) and Denis Oswald of Switzerland (4.75 percent).
Another survey by Web site insidethegames.biz shows a similar picture, with Wu having garnered 549 votes as of 6pm yesterday, nearly 28 percent of the total 1,992 cast.
Bubka, who won an Olympic gold medal in the pole vault in Seoul in 1988, topped that list with 923 votes, or 46.3 percent, followed by Wu and then 60-year-old Carrion, who had 350 votes, or 17.6 percent.
Oswald, Bach and Ng rounded out the list in that order with fewer than 100 votes each. The poll will close on Friday next week.
Votes can be cast and opinions voiced on the Around the Rings Web site and on the Inside the Games Web site.
An election will be held during an IOC session next month in Buenos Aires to replace Jacques Rogge of Belgium, who finishes his 12 years of service this year.
The session will not only select the new leader of the world’s most influential sports body, but will also decide on the host city for the 2020 Olympic Games, as well as choosing an extra sport to be added to the Olympic program.
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