You're reading: Bubka pledges to get more young people into sports if elected IOC president

President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, member of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Serhiy Bubka intends to bring young people into sports more actively and develop sports at mass level if he is elected the IOC president.

“I believe that the best man will win in Buenos Aires on September 10. I am determined to fight in earnest for the most important post in international sports. The Olympic Movement is not just the Olympics, it is much more. My vision of the Olympic Movement for the next eight years lies in attracting the younger generation into sports. We should develop the sports, both at the professional and at the mass level,” he told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

Bubka said that principal clauses of his program involve stepping up work with young people and establishing the Youth Commission of the IOC, the active involvement of the IOC members, including former ones, in decision-making, the formation of a Council of Elders of the IOC, cooperation with authorities, non-governmental organizations, famous people from other fields of activities (science, politics, show business, information technology) to strengthen the image of the Olympic Movement.

“Sport and the Olympic Movement should become a part of daily life of every person on the planet,” he said.

As reported, the election of a new president of the International Olympic Committee will take place on September 10, 2013 at the IOC session in Buenos Aires.

Six candidates for this post presented their programs in Lausanne on July 4. Current IOC President Jacques Rogge in a recent interview noted that all the programs share the same ideas of organizing high quality Olympic games, continuing to promote the values of the Olympic movement, the fight against illegal betting and doping, and the provision of a stable financing. At the same time, there are some differences in the candidates’ programs, he added.

Speaking of Bubka’s chances of becoming the next president of the IOC, Rogge said that he felt the ambition of Ukraine’s NOC president to win, and not just to participate.

“His bid is strong. He conducts his job as a candidate… Yes, Serhiy is 49 years old, but let me remind you that Pierre de Coubertin was just 30 when he called for the revival of the Olympic Games in 1894,” Rogge said.