German Thomas Bach Elected New IOC President

New International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach. Photo by Getty Images

German Olympian Thomas Bach has been expectedly elected IOC president and will replace Jacques Rogge.

The 59-year-old German lawyer and IOC vice president garnered 49 votes to 29 for runner-up Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico.

Bach, who heads Germany's national Olympic committee, has worked on many of the governing body's most challenging issues, including its legal and TV rights commissions.

Plus he's served on the executive board under two IOC presidents, Rogge and Juan Antonio Samaranch. "He's seen two different styles," Payne said.

"I want to lead the IOC according to my motto, Unity in Diversity. I want to be a president for all of you. … You should know that my door, my ears and my heart are always open to you," Bach told the group of about 100 IOC members who cast their secret ballot.

Bach is the first Olympic champion to become IOC president. He won gold in team fencing for West Germany in 1976.

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